System and method for operating a gas treatment system for treating exhaust gases or air

The system addresses emissions from power plants by operating in dual modes to treat exhaust gases and airflows, achieving carbon neutral or negative emissions through a combined gas treatment approach.

JP2026502823APending Publication Date: 2026-01-27GENERAL ELECTRIC TECH GMBH
View PDF 1 Cites 0 Cited by

Patent Information

Application Number
JP2025533452
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-01-06
Publication Date
2026-01-27

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Industrial plants, such as power plants, emit undesirable gases like carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides, which contribute to atmospheric pollution and global warming, necessitating effective gas treatment systems to reduce emissions.

Method used

A system and method that allows a power plant to operate in both power generation and power consumption modes, utilizing a gas treatment system to capture undesirable gases during generation and treat airflow during consumption, employing multiple gas capture systems with heat sources like steam and electric heaters to achieve carbon neutral or negative emissions.

Benefits of technology

The system effectively reduces overall emissions by capturing gases during both modes, enabling carbon neutral or negative emissions, thereby reducing the carbon footprint and complying with environmental regulations.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

Smart Images

  • Figure 2026502823000001_ABST
    Figure 2026502823000001_ABST
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

The system includes a gas treatment system having a first gas capture system configured to at least partially capture undesirable gases and at least one gas capture system configured to at least partially capture undesirable gases. The gas treatment system also includes an exhaust flow path through the at least one gas capture system, an airflow path through the at least one gas capture system, and at least one flow control. The at least one flow control is configured to direct exhaust gases from the combustion system through the exhaust flow path in a first control mode to enable gas capture from the exhaust gases by the at least one gas capture system, and the at least one flow control is configured to direct airflow through the airflow path in a second control mode to enable gas capture from the airflow by the at least one gas capture system.
Need to check novelty before this filing date? Find Prior Art

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE INVENTION This application relates generally to systems and methods for operating gas treatment systems for treating exhaust gases or air, such as for power plants that use combustion systems as an energy source to generate electricity. [Background technology]

[0002] Industrial plants, such as power plants, can produce various gases, such as exhaust gases from combustion systems. The combustion systems may include gas turbine engines or systems, reciprocating piston-cylinder engines, furnaces, boilers, or other industrial equipment. These exhaust gases may include one or more undesirable gases, such as acid gases and / or greenhouse gases. For example, undesirable gases may include carbon oxides, such as carbon dioxide (CO) and carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides, such as nitrogen dioxide (NO), and / or sulfur oxides, such as sulfur dioxide (SO). CO is both an acid gas and a greenhouse gas. Unfortunately, the atmospheric CO content has generally increased over millennia and currently exceeds approximately 420 parts per million by volume (ppmv) or approximately 643 parts per million by weight (ppmw) in the atmosphere. Due to various regulations and environmental concerns regarding global warming, it would be desirable to reduce the output of undesirable gases (eg, CO2) into the atmosphere, especially for hydrocarbon fuel consuming devices such as combustion systems. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] US Patent Application Publication No. 2012 / 0260635 Summary of the Invention

[0004] Some specific embodiments commensurate in scope with the initially claimed subject matter are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed embodiments; rather, these embodiments are intended only to provide a brief summary of possible forms of the present subject matter. Indeed, the embodiments claimed herein may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below.

[0005] In some specific embodiments, a system includes a gas treatment system having a first gas capture system configured to at least partially capture undesirable gases and at least one gas capture system configured to at least partially capture undesirable gases. The gas treatment system also includes an exhaust flow path through the at least one gas capture system, an airflow path through the at least one gas capture system, and at least one flow control. The at least one flow control is configured to direct exhaust gases from the combustion system through the exhaust flow path in a first control mode to enable gas capture from the exhaust gases by the at least one gas capture system, and the at least one flow control is configured to direct airflow through the airflow path in a second control mode to enable gas capture from the airflow by the at least one gas capture system.

[0006] In some specific embodiments, a system includes a controller having a memory, a processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to change an operating mode of a gas processing system between a first control mode and a second control mode, the gas processing system including at least one gas capture system configured to at least partially capture undesirable gases. The controller is configured, in the first control mode, to control the at least one flow control to direct exhaust gases from a combustion system along an exhaust flow path through the at least one gas capture system, the first control mode enabling gas capture from the exhaust gases by the at least one gas capture system. The controller is configured, in the second control mode, to control the at least one flow control to direct an airflow along an airflow path through the at least one gas capture system, the second control mode enabling gas capture from the airflow by the at least one gas capture system.

[0007] In some specific embodiments, a method includes changing an operating mode of a gas processing system between a first control mode and a second control mode, the gas processing system including at least one gas capture system configured to at least partially capture undesirable gases. The method includes controlling, in the first control mode, at least one flow controller to direct exhaust gases from a combustion system along an exhaust flow path through the at least one gas capture system, the first control mode enabling capture of gases from the exhaust gases by the at least one gas capture system. The method includes controlling, in a second control mode, at least one flow controller to direct an airflow along an airflow path through the at least one gas capture system, the second control mode enabling capture of gases from the airflow by the at least one gas capture system.

[0008] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed techniques will be better understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts throughout. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a combined cycle power plant having a gas turbine system, a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), a steam turbine system, and a multi-stage gas processing system having multiple gas capture systems configured to capture undesirable gases (e.g., CO). [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a gas capture system of the multi-stage gas processing system of FIG. 1, showing a sorbent-based gas capture system. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a gas capture system of the multi-stage gas processing system of FIG. 1, showing a solvent-based gas capture system. [Figure 4] 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the combined cycle power plant of FIG. 1 further illustrating details of a multi-mode configuration for selectively operating in a power generating mode and a power consuming mode. [Figure 5] 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a power plant having a multi-mode configuration for selectively operating the power plant in a power generating mode and a power consuming mode; [Figure 6] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the combined cycle power plant of FIGS. 1 and 4, further illustrating a plurality of power trains having a gas turbine system, a steam turbine system, an HRSG, and motor-generators. [Figure 7] 6 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the power plant of FIG. 5 further showing a plurality of power trains having combustion systems, steam generators, air movers, steam turbines, and motor-generators. [Figure 8]8 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a process for controlling operation of a power plant in power producing and power consuming modes, as described above with reference to FIGS. 1-7. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The following describes one or more specific embodiments of the system of the present disclosure. While an effort is made to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation may be described herein. It is understood that, as with any engineering or design project, the development of such an actual implementation will require many implementation-specific decisions to achieve the developer's particular objectives, including, for example, adherence to system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from implementation to implementation. It is further understood that such a development effort will be complex and time-consuming, but will nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

[0011] When introducing elements of various embodiments of the disclosed embodiments herein, the articles "a," "an," "the," and "said" are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms "comprise," "include," and "have" are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.

[0012] Embodiments of the present disclosure include systems and methods for reducing the carbon footprint of a combustion system, such as a combustion-driven power plant. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure may reduce the carbon footprint of a power plant to at least carbon neutral or carbon negative. However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to a carbon neutral or carbon negative footprint, and thus, any reduction in the carbon footprint of a power plant is within the scope of embodiments of the present disclosure. In the context of this application, any reference to a carbon neutral or carbon negative goal or objective is intended as a non-limiting example.

[0013] As described below, embodiments of the present disclosure selectively operate a power plant in a power generation mode (e.g., an ignition mode or a fuel combustion mode) to generate electricity and a power consumption mode (e.g., a non-ignition mode or a non-combustion mode) to consume electricity, with the gas processing system configured to treat exhaust gases during the power generation mode and the gas processing system configured to treat airflows during the power consumption mode. During the power generation mode, the power plant combusts fuel to generate combustion gases as an energy source to drive one or more motor-generators (e.g., operating in an electric-generator mode) to generate electricity, while the gas processing system removes undesirable gases (e.g., CO) from the exhaust gases. For example, the combustion gases may be used to drive a gas turbine in a gas turbine system coupled to the motor-generators, and / or the combustion gases may be used to generate steam to drive a steam turbine in a steam turbine system coupled to the motor-generators. During the power consumption mode, the power plant consumes electricity to drive one or more airflows through the gas processing system, thereby treating the air and reducing the power plant's carbon footprint. For example, a power plant may consume electricity to operate a motor-generator (e.g., operating in electric motor mode) to drive a compressor in a gas turbine system, an air mover in a combustion system, and / or one or more additional air movers that provide one or more air flows through the gas processing system. In some embodiments, a power plant may consume electricity to drive one or more separate electric motor-driven air movers to provide one or more air flows through the gas processing system. Thus, in some particular embodiments, the power consumption mode does not include combustion of fuel to generate electricity, but an air flow is provided to the gas processing system for treatment of the air. In some particular embodiments, the gas processing system may include a single gas capture system or multiple gas capture systems, and the gas processing system may be configured to use the same or different gas capture systems to treat exhaust gases in a power generation mode and to treat air in a power consumption mode.Thus, the present application contemplates any use of the same or different gas capture systems for exhaust gas and air treatment.

[0014] As described in more detail below, a power plant can operate in a power generation mode when power demand and / or energy pricing are above a threshold level and can operate in a power consumption mode when power demand and / or energy pricing are below a threshold level (e.g., low or negative energy pricing). The threshold level can vary depending on various factors, including a threshold level based on operator preferences, emissions standards, or any other factor. In this application, any description of power demand and / or energy pricing as a basis for switching a power plant between a power generation mode and a power consumption mode is intended as a non-limiting example. In the context of power demand and energy pricing, a power plant can use electricity when power demand and / or energy pricing are low or negative, thereby providing advantageous environmental benefits by treating the air to reduce undesirable gases (e.g., CO) in the ambient air. In summary, by treating the exhaust gas during the power generation mode and treating the airflow during the power consumption mode, the power plant has a lower overall emission level of undesirable gases (e.g., CO) than would be possible if it only treated the exhaust gas during the power generation mode. In this way, the power plant may be able to more easily achieve a target carbon footprint, such as carbon neutral or carbon negative emissions (e.g., CO2 emissions), or another suitable target.

[0015] In the context of exhaust gas processing, carbon neutral is a state of net-zero CO2 emissions where the amount of CO2 in the exhaust gas equals the amount of CO2 in the inlet air to the process. Similarly, in the context of exhaust gas processing, carbon negative is a state of net-negative CO2 emissions where the amount of CO2 in the exhaust gas is less than the amount of CO2 in the inlet air to the process. In the context of air processing, carbon negative is a state of net-negative CO2 emissions where the amount of CO2 in the treated air is less than the amount of CO2 in the ambient air before treatment. In some specific embodiments, a power plant enables carbon-neutral or carbon-negative emissions (e.g., CO2 emissions) during a power generation mode, and the power plant also enables carbon-negative emissions (e.g., CO2 emissions) during a power consumption mode. Taken together, a power plant can enable carbon-neutral or carbon-negative emissions (e.g., CO2 emissions) when considering exhaust gas processing during a power generation mode and air processing during a power consumption mode.

[0016] Again, in some embodiments, the power plant may not achieve carbon-neutral or carbon-negative emissions. However, by treating exhaust gases (e.g., CO2 capture) in the power generation mode and treating air (e.g., CO2 capture) in the power consumption mode, the carbon footprint can be substantially reduced. In some particular embodiments, the power plant enables a first emission reduction (e.g., CO2 capture) during the power generation mode, and the power plant also enables a second emission reduction (e.g., CO2 capture) during the power consumption mode. The first emission reduction can be, for example, at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 97.5%, 99%, or 100% carbon capture (e.g., CO2 capture) from the exhaust gas. The second emission reduction can be, for example, at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 97.5%, 99%, or 100% carbon capture (e.g., CO2 capture) from the treated ambient air. In summary, a power plant enables a reduction in its carbon footprint (e.g., CO2 emissions) when considering exhaust gas treatment during power generation mode and air treatment during power consumption mode. Accordingly, the following description should be understood to cover the reduction of undesirable gases (e.g., CO2) that benefit from air treatment at the power plant, which may not otherwise occur because the typical purpose is to treat exhaust gases while operating the power plant to generate electricity. Additionally, because the power plant's gas treatment system is used for both exhaust gas treatment and air treatment, the power plant can use the same gas treatment system to provide air treatment rather than investing in a dedicated air treatment system (e.g., a direct air capture (DAC) plant) separate from the power plant.

[0017] Although embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described in the context of CO removal, embodiments of the present disclosure can be used to remove any "undesirable gas" or "undesirable gases," including, but not limited to, carbon oxides (e.g., CO, CO), nitrogen oxides (e.g., NO), sulfur oxides (e.g., SO), and various other acid gases and / or greenhouse gases. As described below, the combustion system can be associated with a power plant (e.g., a coal- or other fuel-fired power plant or a combined cycle power plant), a simple-cycle gas turbine system, a reciprocating piston-cylinder engine, a furnace, a boiler, or other industrial equipment that produces exhaust gases. The combined cycle power plant can include a gas turbine system that drives an electric generator, a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) that generates steam using heat from the exhaust gas of the gas turbine system, and a steam turbine of a steam turbine system that is driven by the steam to drive the electric generator. Coal or other fuel-fired power plants can use combustion gases from the combustion of a fuel (e.g., coal) to generate steam in a steam generator (e.g., a boiler), and a steam turbine in a steam turbine system is driven by the steam to drive an electric generator.

[0018] With the above in mind, embodiments of the present disclosure include multiple gas treatment stages configured to remove undesirable gases (e.g., CO) from the air and / or exhaust gas of a combustion system to help achieve desired emissions goals, such as, but not limited to, net-neutral or net-negative emissions. Embodiments of the present disclosure may use the same or different gas treatment stages (e.g., gas capture stages) for air treatment and exhaust gas treatment. In addition, while multiple stages can be used for exhaust gas treatment and air treatment in various configurations, some particular embodiments of the gas treatment system may use a single stage of gas treatment (e.g., gas capture). The multiple gas treatment stages may include one or more gas treatment systems installed upstream of the compressor and / or combustor, one or more gas treatment systems installed downstream of the gas turbine and / or HRSG, or a combination thereof. The gas treatment system may include an adsorbent-based gas treatment system, a solvent-based gas treatment system, a cryogenic-based gas treatment system, one or more other types of gas treatment systems, or a combination thereof. The gas processing system is not limited to the examples described herein, and therefore, any suitable gas processing system can be used for gas capture. For example, a sorbent-based gas processing system is configured to adsorb undesired gases onto a sorbent material and then desorb the undesired gases from the sorbent material using a heat source. The adsorption process is exothermic, and the desorption process is endothermic. As a further example, a solvent-based gas processing system may include an absorber configured to absorb undesired gases into a solvent and a regenerator configured to remove the undesired gases from the solvent using a heat source. Thus, in both types of gas processing systems, a heat source can be used to facilitate the removal and capture of undesired gases (e.g., CO). During a power generation mode (e.g., ignition mode), the heat source may include steam generated by a steam generator (e.g., HRSG), waste heat from one or more waste heat recovery systems, or a combination thereof. During a power consumption mode (e.g., non-ignition mode), the heat source may include one or more heaters (e.g., electric heaters), heat exchangers, or a combination thereof.In some embodiments, the heat source may include one or more separate gas turbine systems that generate heat in the form of exhaust gases, compressed air, and / or waste heat. Additionally, in some embodiments, the heat source may include one or more separate steam generators (e.g., HRSGs) configured to provide steam as a heat source, for example, associated with the separate gas turbine systems. Various aspects and embodiments of the gas processing system are described in further detail below.

[0019] 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a combined cycle power plant 10 having a gas turbine system 12 (e.g., a gas turbine engine), a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) 14, a steam turbine system 16 (e.g., a steam turbine engine), and a multi-stage gas treatment system (GTS) 18. As described in further detail below, the multi-stage gas treatment system 18 is configured to treat one or more air streams and / or exhaust gases within the combined cycle power plant 10. For example, in a power generation mode (e.g., an ignition mode or a combustion mode), the combined cycle power plant 10 is configured to generate electricity for local use or distribution to a power grid while treating exhaust gases resulting from combustion of a fuel through the multi-stage gas treatment system 18. In a power consumption mode (e.g., a non-ignition mode or a non-combustion mode), the combined cycle power plant 10 is configured to consume electrical power to drive one or more air streams for treatment in the multi-stage gas treatment system 18. The power consumption mode is particularly advantageous when power demand and / or power pricing is below a threshold, such as low or negative energy pricing. Collectively, the air treatment during the power consumption mode and the exhaust gas treatment during the power generation mode help provide a desirable reduction in carbon emissions (e.g., carbon-neutral or carbon-negative emissions (e.g., CO2 emissions)) by the combined cycle power plant 10. Various features and stages of the gas processing system 18 are described in further detail below, and the various features and stages may be used in any suitable combination with one another. However, before discussing the gas processing system 18 and its different modes (e.g., the power generation mode and the power consumption mode), the combined cycle power plant 10 will be described as one possible context for using the gas processing system 18.

[0020] The gas turbine system 12 cycle is often referred to as the "topping cycle," and the steam turbine system 16 cycle is often referred to as the "bottoming cycle." By combining these two cycles as shown in FIG. 1 , the combined cycle power plant 10 can achieve even greater efficiency in both cycles. In particular, waste heat from the topping cycle can be captured and used to generate steam in the HRSG 14 for use in the bottoming cycle. However, the HRSG 14 may be configured (e.g., in a power generation mode) to generate and provide steam for other uses in the combined cycle power plant 10, including the gas processing system 18. For example, the gas processing system 18 may be configured to use the steam generated in the HRSG 14 to facilitate separation and capture of undesirable gases, such as carbon capture (e.g., CO capture) in a sorbent-based gas processing system and / or a solvent-based gas processing system. However, in a power consumption mode, the gas processing system 18 may use other heat sources, such as electric heaters, heat exchangers, waste heat systems, or any combination thereof. During the power consumption mode, the use of the heat exchanger and / or waste heat system may depend on the availability of other heated fluids and / or waste heat.

[0021] As shown, the gas turbine system 12 includes an air intake section 20, a compressor section 22, a combustor section 24, a turbine section 26, and a motor-generator 28 (e.g., selectively functioning as an electric motor or an electric generator). As described in detail below, the motor-generator 28 can operate as an electric generator during a power generation mode, while the motor-generator 28 can operate as an electric motor during a power consumption mode. The air intake section 20 can include one or more air filters, an anti-icing system, a fluid injection system (e.g., temperature control fluid), a silencer baffle, or any combination thereof, which can be installed in a filter house and / or an air intake duct. In some embodiments, the air intake section 20 can include one or more air movers configured to help direct airflow through the air intake section 20 and the gas turbine system 12 during a power consumption mode. For example, the air movers can include electric motor-driven fans or blowers that can operate during a power consumption mode. The compressor section 22 includes multiple compressor stages 30, each having a plurality of rotating compressor blades 32 coupled to a compressor shaft 38 and a plurality of stationary compressor vanes 34 coupled to a compressor casing 36. The combustor section 24 includes one or more combustors 40. A shaft 42 extends between the compressor section 22 and the turbine section 26. Each combustor 40 includes one or more fuel nozzles 44 coupled to one or more fuel sources 46, which may supply fuel via a primary fuel circuit and a secondary fuel circuit. The fuel sources 46 may provide natural gas, synthetic gas, biofuel, fuel oil, or any combination of liquid and gaseous fuels. The turbine section 26 includes multiple turbine stages 56, each having a plurality of rotating turbine blades 48 coupled to a turbine shaft 54 ​​and a plurality of stationary turbine vanes 50 coupled to a turbine casing 52. The turbine shaft 54 ​​also connects to the motor-generator 28 via a shaft 58.

[0022] In a power generation mode, the gas turbine system 12 routes an intake airflow 60 from the air intake section 20 to the compressor section 22. The compressor section 22 progressively compresses the intake airflow 60 in stages 30 and delivers the compressed airflow 62 to one or more combustors 40. The one or more combustors 40 receive fuel from a fuel supply 46, route the fuel through fuel nozzles 44, and combust the fuel with the compressed airflow 62 to generate hot combustion gases in a combustion chamber 64 within the combustor 40. The one or more combustors 40 then route a hot combustion gas flow 66 to the turbine section 26. The turbine section 26 progressively expands the hot combustion gas flow 66, driving the rotation of turbine blades 48 in a stage 56 before discharging an exhaust gas flow 68. The hot combustion gas flow 66 drives the rotation of the turbine blades 48, which in turn drive the rotation of the turbine shaft 54, shafts 42 and 58, and the compressor shaft 38. Accordingly, in a power generation mode, the turbine section 26 drives the rotation of the compressor section 22 and the motor-generator 28 (e.g., functioning as an electric generator). An exhaust gas stream 68 may be partially or fully directed to flow through the HRSG 14 to enable heat recovery and steam generation. In some particular embodiments, one or more additional gas turbine systems 12 may be included as part of the combined cycle power plant 10, and the additional gas turbine systems 12 may discharge an exhaust gas stream 68 to the HRSG 14. Thus, the combined exhaust gas stream 68 from the gas turbine systems 12 (e.g., one, two, three, four, or more) may pass through the HRSG 14 to generate steam for the steam turbine system 16, with the exhaust gas stream 68 then being processed by the gas processing system 18.

[0023] The HRSG 14 may include multiple heat exchangers and / or heat exchange components 70 installed in different sections, such as a high-pressure (HP) section 72, an intermediate-pressure (IP) section 74, and a low-pressure (LP) section 76. The components 70 may include an economizer, an evaporator, a superheater, or any combination thereof, in each of the HP, IP, and LP sections 72, 74, and 76. The components 70 may be coupled to each other via various conduits and headers. In a power generation mode, the HRSG 14 may deliver one or more streams of steam (e.g., low-pressure steam, intermediate-pressure steam, high-pressure steam) to the steam turbine system 16. In the illustrated embodiment, the components 70 of the HRSG 14 include a final high-pressure superheater 78, a secondary reheater 80, a primary reheater 82, a primary high-pressure superheater 84, an interstage attemperator 86, an interstage attemperator 88, a high-pressure evaporator 90 (HP EVAP), a high-pressure economizer 92 (HP ECON), an intermediate-pressure evaporator 94 (IP EVAP), an intermediate-pressure economizer 96 (IP ECON), a low-pressure evaporator 98 (LP EVAP), and a low-pressure economizer 100 (LP ECON). The HRSG 14 also includes a housing or duct 102 that houses the various components 70. The functionality of the components 70 is described in further detail below.

[0024] The steam turbine system 16 includes a steam turbine 104 having a high-pressure steam turbine (HP ST) 106, an intermediate-pressure steam turbine (IP ST) 108, and a low-pressure steam turbine (LP ST) 110 coupled to each other via shafts 112 and 114. In some particular embodiments, the steam turbine system 16 may include any number of steam turbines, such as one, two, three, four, five, or more steam turbines. As shown, the steam turbine 104 may be coupled to a load 116 (e.g., an electric generator) via a shaft 118. In some embodiments, the gas turbine system 12 and the steam turbine system 16 are arranged in series along a common shaft, and thus may both drive the same load (e.g., a motor-generator 28). In a power generation mode, the HRSG 14 may be configured to generate high-pressure steam for the high-pressure steam turbine 106, intermediate-pressure steam for the intermediate-pressure steam turbine 108, and low-pressure steam for the low-pressure steam turbine 110. In some particular embodiments, exhaust from the high-pressure steam turbine 106 may be routed through a primary reheater 82, an interstage attemperator 88, and a secondary reheater 80 within the HRSG 14 to an intermediate-pressure steam turbine 108, and exhaust from the intermediate-pressure steam turbine 108 may be routed to a low-pressure steam turbine 110. The steam turbine 104 may discharge condensate 120 (or condense steam in a condenser 122 downstream of the steam turbine 104), which may then be pumped back to the HRSG 14 via one or more pumps 124.

[0025] In a power generation mode, the exhaust gas stream 68 passes through the HRSG 14, transferring heat to the components 70 to generate steam for driving the steam turbine 104. The exhaust steam from the low-pressure steam turbine 110 may be directed to a condenser 122 to form a condensate 120. The condensate 120 from the condenser 122 may then be directed to the low-pressure section 76 of the HRSG 14 with the aid of a pump 124. The condensate 120 may then flow through a low-pressure economizer 100 configured to heat feedwater 126 (including the condensate 120) with the exhaust gas stream 68. From the low-pressure economizer 100, the feedwater 126 may enter the low-pressure evaporator 98. The feedwater 126 from the low-pressure economizer 100 may be directed to the intermediate-pressure economizer 96 and the high-pressure economizer 92 with the aid of a pump 125. The steam from the low-pressure evaporator 98 may be directed to the low-pressure steam turbine 110. Similarly, from the intermediate-pressure economizer 96, the feedwater 126 may be routed into the intermediate-pressure evaporator 94 and / or to the high-pressure economizer 92. Additionally, steam from the intermediate-pressure economizer 96 may be routed to a fuel gas heater 95, where the steam may be used to heat fuel gas for use in the combustion chamber 64 of the gas turbine system 12. Steam from the intermediate-pressure evaporator 94 may be routed to the intermediate-pressure steam turbine 108.

[0026] Feedwater 126 from the high-pressure economizer 92 may be delivered to the high-pressure evaporator 90. Steam from the high-pressure evaporator 90 may be delivered to the primary high-pressure superheater 84 and the final high-pressure superheater 78, where the steam is superheated and ultimately delivered to the high-pressure steam turbine 106. The interstage attemperator 86 may be located between the primary high-pressure superheater 84 and the final high-pressure superheater 78. The interstage attemperator 86 may enable more robust control of the exhaust temperature of the steam from the final high-pressure superheater 78. Specifically, the interstage attemperator 86 may be configured to control the temperature of the steam exiting the final high-pressure superheater 78 by injecting cooled feedwater spray into the superheated steam upstream of the final high-pressure superheater 78 whenever the exhaust temperature of the steam exiting the final high-pressure superheater 78 exceeds a predetermined value.

[0027] Additionally, exhaust from the high-pressure steam turbine 106 may be directed to a primary reheater 82 and a secondary reheater 80 where it may be reheated before being directed to the intermediate-pressure steam turbine 108. The primary reheater 82 and the secondary reheater 80 may also be associated with an interstage attemperator 88 configured to control the exhaust steam temperature from the reheater. Specifically, the interstage attemperator 88 may be configured to control the temperature of the steam exiting the secondary reheater 80 by injecting cooling feedwater spray into the superheated steam upstream of the secondary reheater 80 whenever the exhaust temperature of the steam exiting the secondary reheater 80 exceeds a predetermined value. The arrangement of the components 70 of the HRSG 14 is merely one example that may be used in the combined cycle power plant 10 and the gas processing system 18, and the components 70 may be arranged differently within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0028] The combined cycle power plant 10 further includes a fluid connection system 130 between stages of the HRSG 14 and stages of the steam turbine system 16. For example, the fluid connection system 130 includes a high-pressure steam supply conduit or line 132 coupled to an inlet to the final high-pressure superheater 78 and the high-pressure steam turbine 106, and a discharge or return line 134 coupled to an outlet of the high-pressure steam turbine 106 and the primary reheater 82. The fluid connection system 130 also includes an intermediate-pressure steam supply conduit or line 136 and a discharge or return line 138. The intermediate-pressure steam supply line 136 is fluidly coupled to an outlet of the intermediate-pressure evaporator 94 and the secondary reheater 80 and to an inlet to the intermediate-pressure steam turbine 108. The discharge or return line 138 is fluidly coupled to an outlet of the intermediate-pressure steam turbine 108 and an inlet to the low-pressure steam turbine 110. The fluid connection system 130 also includes a low-pressure steam supply conduit or line 140 and a discharge or return line 142. A low-pressure steam supply line 140 is fluidly coupled to the discharge or return line 138 from the outlet of the low-pressure evaporator 98 and the intermediate-pressure steam turbine 108, and to an inlet to the low-pressure steam turbine 110. A discharge or return line 142 is fluidly coupled to the outlet of the low-pressure steam turbine 110 and to an inlet to the low-pressure economizer 100. As mentioned above, the return line 142 includes the condenser 122 and the pump 124.

[0029] The combined cycle power plant 10 may include a control system 144 communicatively coupled to a monitoring system 146, which is communicatively coupled to various components of the gas turbine system 12, the HRSG 14, the steam turbine system 16, and the gas processing system 18. The monitoring system 146 is configured to monitor a plurality of sensors 148, referred to as "S," distributed throughout the combined cycle power plant 10. The control system 144 includes a controller 150, which includes one or more processors 152, a memory 154, and instructions 156 stored in the memory 154 and executable by the processor(s) 152 to perform various control functions for operating the gas turbine system 12, the HRSG 14, the steam turbine system 16, and the gas processing system 18. In some particular embodiments, the control system 144 may communicate information (e.g., sensor feedback, alerts, alarms, etc.) to a user interface, cloud storage, a remote computer system, or any combination thereof.

[0030] The sensors 148 may be communicatively coupled to the control system 144 via communication wires or wireless communication circuitry. The sensors 148 may be installed in one or more locations within the air intake section 20, the compressor section 22, the combustor section 24, the turbine section 26, the HRSG 14, the steam turbine system 16, the gas processing system 18, and the surrounding environment (e.g., air quality monitoring). For example, the sensors 148 may be installed in one or more locations within each of the high-pressure steam turbine 106, the intermediate-pressure steam turbine 108, and the low-pressure steam turbine 110, thereby enabling monitoring of steam properties (e.g., temperature, pressure, etc.) at various locations. The sensors 148 may also be installed along each of the lines 132, 134, 136, 138, 140, and 142 of the fluid connection system 130, thereby facilitating monitoring of various fluid parameters between the HRSG 14, the steam turbines 106, 108, and 110, and the gas processing system 18. Additionally, sensors 148 may be coupled to and / or distributed throughout gas processing system 18 to enable monitoring and control of gas processing (e.g., gas capture) from various air and / or exhaust gas streams. In some particular embodiments, sensors 148 may include flow sensors, pressure sensors, temperature sensors, fluid composition sensors, flame sensors, vibration sensors, clearance sensors, trip sensors, or any combination thereof. Fluid composition sensors may monitor composition levels of various undesirable gases, such as carbon oxides (e.g., CO, CO), nitrogen oxides (e.g., NO), sulfur oxides (e.g., SO), various other acid gases and / or greenhouse gases, as well as composition levels of oxygen, hydrogen, and unreacted fuel gas content.Accordingly, sensor feedback from sensors 148 may be used to adjust various aspects of gas processing system 18 in power producing and power consuming modes to reduce the carbon footprint of combined cycle power plant 10, such as by substantially removing undesirable gases (e.g., CO) from the exhaust gases and air (e.g., ambient air) so that the carbon footprint is at least below a desired carbon emission threshold (e.g., at least low carbon, carbon neutral, or carbon negative emissions). Further details of monitoring and control of gas processing system 18 are described further below.

[0031] As described in further detail below, the gas processing system 18 is configured to remove and / or capture one or more undesirable gases (e.g., exhaust gases, acid gases, greenhouse gases, etc.) from one or more air streams and / or exhaust gas streams 68 during power generation and power consumption modes of the combined cycle power plant 10. For example, during the power generation mode, the gas processing system 18 is configured to remove and / or capture one or more undesirable gases from the inlet air stream 60 to the gas turbine system 12 (e.g., upstream of the compressor section 22 and / or combustor section 24) and / or the exhaust gas stream 68 (e.g., downstream of the turbine section 26 and / or HRSG 14). As a further example, during the power consumption mode, the gas processing system 18 is configured to remove and / or capture one or more undesirable gases from one or more air streams that may flow through the interior of the gas turbine system 12 (e.g., the compressor section 22, the combustor section 24, and the turbine section 26), completely outside the gas turbine system 12, or partially inside and outside the gas turbine system 12 (e.g., through the compressor section 22 but not through the combustor section 24 and / or the turbine section 26) using compressor bleed lines extending to the gas processing system 18. The various air circuits are described in further detail below with reference to FIG. 7 . During the power consumption mode, the gas processing system 18 may not process any exhaust gas stream 68. However, some embodiments may route an exhaust gas stream from a separate source to the gas processing system 18 for processing along with the air stream.

[0032] Undesirable gases are intended to cover any gases that may be undesirable in the ambient air, the intake air stream 60, and / or the exhaust gas stream 68. For example, undesirable gases may include acid gases and / or greenhouse gases. By way of further example, undesirable gases may include carbon oxides (CO), such as carbon dioxide (CO) and carbon monoxide (CO). X ), nitrogen oxides (NO X ), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and other sulfur oxides (SO XThe gas adsorption or absorption may include any gas that is typically subject to regulation, including, but not limited to, CO2, methane (CH4), or any combination thereof. Embodiments of the present disclosure are particularly well suited for gas adsorption or absorption of CO2 from ambient air, intake air stream 60, and / or exhaust gas stream 68. However, the following description is intended to cover each of these examples when referring to undesirable gases.

[0033] The gas processing system 18 may include multiple gas capture systems 160 (e.g., gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166) installed throughout the combined cycle power plant 10 to process gas streams (e.g., air streams, exhaust streams, etc.). Each of the gas capture systems 160 (e.g., 162, 164, and 166) may be configured to use one or more heat sources to facilitate gas capture, and the gas capture systems 160 may include a sorbent-based gas capture system, a solvent-based gas capture system, or a combination thereof. As described below, the heat sources may include heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) extracted from the HRSG 14 and / or the steam turbine system 16 and supplied to the gas capture system 160 via a steam supply system 170 (e.g., a steam supply circuit), waste heat recovered by a waste heat recovery (WHR) system 172 of the combined cycle power plant 10, one or more electric heaters, or a combination thereof. The HRSG 14 and the waste heat recovery system 172 may generally be available during the power generation mode of the combined cycle power plant 10. However, portions of the HRSG 14 and the waste heat recovery system 172 may not be available during the power consumption mode of the combined cycle power plant 10. For example, during the power consumption mode, the heat source may include an electric heater, which may provide heat to generate the heated fluid 168 and / or may be used to provide heat in a different manner. For example, the electric heater may be configured to directly add heat to the gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166, such as by directly heating the sorbent material and / or solvent. In this application, any reference to the heated fluid 168 for use as a heat source for the gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166 is intended to include embodiments that rely on an electric heater or other heat source available during the power consumption mode. For example, during the power consumption mode, a heat exchanger and / or the waste heat recovery system 172 may be used depending on the availability of the heated fluid and / or waste heat.

[0034] In the power generation mode, the gas processing system 18 may use steam and / or waste heat as a heat source, as described below. The steam supply system 170 may include steam supply conduits or lines 174 and 176 coupled to the HRSG 14 and / or the steam turbine system 16 at one or more locations. In the illustrated embodiment, the steam supply lines 174 and 176 may be coupled to the HRSG 14 and / or the steam turbine system 16 at or between the low-pressure and intermediate-pressure sections, such as between the low-pressure steam turbine 110 and the intermediate-pressure steam turbine 108, and / or between the LP section 76 and the IP section 74 of the HRSG 14. However, in some particular embodiments, steam supply system 170 may be selectively coupled to any one, more than one, or all components of HRSG 14 (e.g., one or more components or locations in each of HP, IP, and LP sections 72, 74, and 76) and / or any one, more than one, or all stages of steam turbine system 16 (e.g., HP, IP, and LP steam turbines 106, 108, 110) so that heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) may be extracted at one or more pressures, temperatures, or conditions for use in gas capture system 160. For example, control system 144 may be configured to control various valves coupled to steam lines to control steam flow from various components of HRSG 14 and stages of steam turbine system 16. Additionally, in some particular embodiments, heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) may be extracted from other sources, such as a waste heat steam generator that utilizes waste heat from waste heat recovery system 172 to generate steam. The gas processing system 18 is also configured, via control by the control system 144, to combine steam from various steam sources (e.g., the HRSG 14, the steam turbine system 16, the waste heat recovery system 172, the waste heat steam generator, etc.) to provide a mixed steam having desired steam characteristics, such as a steam temperature and an associated pressure between upper and lower temperature thresholds. Additionally, the quality of the steam (saturated or superheated) can be monitored to meet the specific heating requirements of the gas processing system 18.

[0035] A control system 144 and a monitoring system 146 are communicatively coupled to the gas processing system 18, including the various gas capture systems 160, to provide control of the gas processing and capture process, including control of the heat source (e.g., heated fluid 168, waste heat, electric heaters, etc.) used by the gas capture systems 160. The heat source may depend on the mode of the combined cycle power plant 10. For example, in a power consumption mode of the combined cycle power plant 10, heated fluid 168 may not be available, and thus the gas processing system 18 may rely on one or more electric heaters as a heat source. However, when heated fluid 168 is available, such as during a power generation mode of the combined cycle power plant 10, steam may be added to the gas processing system 18 for indirect heating via a heat exchanger process or direct heating of a CO2-bearing adsorbent or solvent. If the monitoring system 146 (e.g., sensors 148) indicates that the temperature of the extracted heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) is above an upper temperature threshold, the control system 144 may be configured to control the gas processing system 18 to desuperheat or cool the heated fluid 168 (e.g., via an attemperator, cooler, or heat exchanger) to reduce the steam temperature to within the upper and lower temperature thresholds. If the monitoring system 146 (e.g., sensors 148) indicates that the temperature of the extracted heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) is below the lower temperature threshold, the control system 144 may be configured to control the gas processing system 18 to heat the heated fluid 168 (e.g., via a heater or heat exchanger) to increase the steam temperature to within the upper and lower temperature thresholds. In some particular embodiments, the upper and lower temperature thresholds for a gas capture system 160 that uses a sorbent material (eg, a sorbent-based gas capture system) can be between about 80°C and 120°C.

[0036] For temperature regulation, steam supply lines 174 and 176 may include respective heat exchangers 178 and 180 configured to condition the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) supplied to gas capture system 160. Heat exchangers 178 and 180 may use another fluid to heat or cool the steam. For example, waste heat recovery system 172 may be configured to exchange heat (e.g., via a heat exchange fluid) with heat exchangers 178 and 180 to heat or cool heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) to fall within upper and lower temperature thresholds. Control system 144 may be coupled to various valves, pressure regulators, and sensors 148 to help control the respective flow through heat exchangers 178 and 180, thereby controlling the heat exchange and resulting temperature of heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water). Additionally or alternatively, as described above, the waste heat recovery system 172 may be configured to transfer heat between waste heat and the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water), such as in a waste heat steam generator, to adjust the temperature of the heated fluid 168. The waste heat recovery system 172 may also be used to improve the efficiency of the combined cycle power plant 10 in other ways, such as by providing heat to other equipment throughout the combined cycle power plant 10.

[0037] Waste heat recovery system 172 may include multiple distributed waste heat recovery systems 182, 184, and 186. Waste heat recovery system 182 is coupled to the motor-generator 28 (e.g., an electric generator) of gas turbine system 12, waste heat recovery system 184 is coupled to the load 116 (e.g., an electric generator) of steam turbine system 16, and waste heat recovery system 186 is coupled to a compression system 188 of gas processing system 18. Waste heat recovery systems 182, 184, and 186 may include one or more heat exchangers configured to transfer heat between a respective heat-generating component (e.g., 28, 116, and 188) and one or more fluids. For example, each waste heat recovery system 182, 184, and 186 may transfer heat between a first fluid (e.g., a coolant and / or lubricant within heat-generating component 28, 116, and 188) and a second fluid via a first heat exchanger. The second fluid may be water used directly to generate steam in a waste heat steam generator or a working fluid used indirectly to transfer heat to water (e.g., via a second heat exchanger) to generate steam. In some embodiments, the waste heat recovery system 172 may include one or more distributed waste heat recovery systems coupled to other machinery and equipment in the combined cycle power plant 10, including, but not limited to, electric motors, pumps, compressors, chemical reactors, air separation units (ASUs), or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the waste heat recovery system 172 may be configured to deliver a heated fluid (e.g., water, coolant, lubricant, etc.) to supply heat to the gas capture system 160, which may be used alone or in combination with the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) as a heat source for the gas capture system 160. Again, one or more electric heaters may be used as a heat source to support the gas processing system 18 when such heat sources are unavailable, such as during a power consumption mode of the combined cycle power plant 10.

[0038] In some particular embodiments, the gas capture systems 160 (e.g., 162, 164, and 166) can be arranged in series (e.g., multiple stages), in parallel, or a combination thereof, relative to the direction of flow through the combined cycle power plant 10. However, the illustrated embodiment includes at least two gas capture systems 160 arranged in series such that the multiple stages of gas capture sequentially help reduce the content of undesirable gases to a desired gas capture threshold (e.g., low carbon, net neutral, or net negative capture status). For example, gas processing system 18 may include or selectively operate multiple gas capture systems 162 only, multiple gas capture systems 164 only, multiple gas capture systems 166 only, a combination of gas capture systems 162 and 164, a combination of gas capture systems 162 and 166, a combination of gas capture systems 164 and 166, all of gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166, or any suitable multi-stage arrangement of two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or more gas capture systems 160. Additionally, multi-stage gas treatment system 18 may include the same or different gas capture systems 160 at various locations, such as with different sizes or flow rates, different internal surface areas along the flow paths, different flow rates along the flow paths, different numbers of flow paths, different geometric or tortuous configurations of the flow paths, different residence times along the flow paths, different gas capture technologies (e.g., adsorbent-based gas capture and / or solvent-based gas capture), specifications for treating high or low concentrations of undesired gases, or any combination thereof. For example, gas capture systems 162 and 166 may be designed to treat low concentrations of undesired gases, while gas capture system 164 may be designed to treat high concentrations of undesired gases. In some embodiments, the concentration of undesired gas in gas capture systems 162 and 166 may be 100 times or more lower than in gas capture system 164.

[0039] Gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166 may differ in design and gas processing capabilities due, at least in part, to their location in combined cycle power plant 10. In the illustrated embodiment, gas capture system 162 is coupled to combined cycle power plant 10 along the inlet air flow 60 (e.g., at air inlet section 20), while gas capture systems 164 and 166 are coupled to combined cycle power plant 10 along the exhaust gas flow 68 (e.g., downstream of turbine section 26). However, gas capture systems 164 and 166 may be selectively operated to treat the exhaust gas flow 68 during a power generation mode or to treat the air flow during a power consumption mode. In some particular embodiments, any one or more of gas capture systems 162, 164, and / or 166 may be used to process the air flow and capture undesirable gases (e.g., CO) during a power consumption mode.

[0040] In the illustrated embodiment, the gas capture system 162 is configured to capture undesirable gases (e.g., CO) from a flow of air 190 before entering the gas turbine system 12 and / or being combusted. In a power generation mode, the gas capture system 162 uses a heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) as a heat source. However, in a power consumption mode, the gas capture system 162 may use one or more electric heaters as a heat source. As described in further detail below, the gas capture system 162 may include a sorbent-based gas capture system, a solvent-based gas capture system, or any combination thereof. An example is provided below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. A steam supply line 174 is coupled to the gas capture system 162 and provides the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) as a steam stream and / or a water stream, as indicated by arrow 192. As described above, the steam supply system 170 may include one or more steam supply lines (e.g., line 174) coupled to the HRSG 14 and / or steam turbine system 16 at one or more locations so as to be able to supply heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) to the gas capture system 162 at various conditions (e.g., pressure, temperature, steam content, water content, etc.).

[0041] Although shown in the air intake section 20, the gas capture system 162 may be configured to treat the air stream 190 anywhere throughout the combined cycle power plant 10, including upstream of the compressor section 22, between compressor stages 30 of the compressor section 22, downstream of the compressor section 22 and upstream of the combustor section 24, other locations containing the air stream, or combinations thereof. In some particular embodiments, the gas capture system 162 may be configured to treat recirculated exhaust gas (EGR), such as the exhaust gas 68 recirculated to the compressor section 22, and thus the gas capture system 162 may be sized to treat a higher concentration of undesirable gases that are recirculated as part of the EGR process. The gas capture system 162 generally treats the air stream 190 (or EGR stream) directed into the gas turbine system 12 to reduce the concentration of undesirable gases while simultaneously sending the captured gas 194 to the compression system 188 via an exhaust conduit or line 196. The exhaust line 196 may also include post-processing equipment, such as a dryer 198 configured to remove moisture content from the entrapped gas 194 .

[0042] 1 , gas capture systems 164 and 166 are coupled to the combined cycle power plant 10 along the exhaust gas stream 68 downstream of the gas turbine section 26 and the HRSG 14. In a power generation mode of the combined cycle power plant 10, the gas capture systems 164 and 166 are configured to remove undesirable gases from the exhaust gas stream 68 discharged from the gas turbine section 12 and the HRSG 14. In some particular embodiments, the gas capture systems 164 and 166 may be configured to treat the exhaust gas stream anywhere throughout the combined cycle power plant 10, including upstream of the HRSG 14, between sections of the HRSG 14 (e.g., HP, IP, and LP sections 72, 74, and 76), downstream of the HRSG 14, a separate exhaust gas stream relative to the exhaust gas stream 68, or any combination thereof. For example, the separate exhaust gas stream may originate from another combustion system, such as a furnace, a boiler, a reciprocating piston-cylinder engine, or any combination thereof. In the illustrated embodiment, gas capture system 164 is located upstream of gas capture system 166 such that gas capture systems 164 and 166 may represent first and second gas capture stages along exhaust gas flow 68. In a power consumption mode of combined cycle power plant 10, one or both of gas capture systems 164 and 166 may be used to process an airflow while no combustion is occurring in gas turbine system 12. For example, as described below with reference to FIGS. 4-7 , an airflow may be routed internally of gas turbine system 12, externally of gas turbine system 12, and / or partially internally and externally of gas turbine system 12 such that the airflow is driven through one or both of gas capture systems 164 and 166 to remove undesirable gases (e.g., CO) from the air.

[0043] 1 , the gas processing system 18 may include one or more dryers 200, one or more fans 202, and one or more valves 204 along a flow path (e.g., a duct) 206 upstream of the gas capture systems 164 and 166. In a power generation mode, the flow path 206 corresponds to an exhaust flow path for the exhaust gas flow 68. In a power consumption mode, the flow path 206 may correspond to an airflow path for an airflow, such as an airflow passing through the interior of the gas turbine system 12. The one or more dryers 200 are configured to remove moisture (e.g., water content or steam) and dry the exhaust gas flow 68 and / or the airflow along the flow path 206. The one or more fans 202 (e.g., electric motor-driven fans) are configured to increase the pressure and / or flow rate of the exhaust gas flow 68 and / or the airflow along the flow path 206. One or more valves 204 are configured to adjust the pressure, flow rate, and / or distribution of the exhaust gas flow 68 and / or the air flow to the gas capture systems 164 and 166 along a flow path 206. In some particular embodiments, the illustrated dryer 200, fan 202, and valve 204 are shared, partially or entirely, by the gas capture systems 164 and 166. However, in some embodiments, one or more dryers 200, fans 202, and valves 204 may be independently installed upstream of each of the gas capture systems 164 and 166. Depending on the mode of the combined cycle power plant (e.g., power generation mode or power consumption mode), the exhaust gas flow 68 and / or air flow along the flow path 206 flows through each of the gas capture systems 164 and 166 in series to progressively remove undesirable gases to achieve a desired capture amount. For example, in power generation mode, the exhaust gas flow 68 flows through both the gas capture systems 164 and 166. In the power consumption mode, the airflow can flow through only gas capture system 164, only gas capture system 166, or both gas capture systems 164 and 166. In some embodiments, gas capture system 166 may be designed for lower concentrations of undesirable gases (e.g., CO), and thus gas capture system 166 may be better suited to handle the airflow in the power consumption mode.

[0044] In the power generation mode of the combined cycle power plant 10, the gas capture system 164 removes a portion of the undesired gases from the exhaust gas stream 68, discharges a treated exhaust gas stream (e.g., exhaust gas treated in an upstream or first stage) to the gas capture system 166, and discharges a captured gas portion of the captured gas 194 as indicated by discharge conduit or line 208. As described in further detail below, the gas capture system 164 may include a sorbent-based gas capture system, a solvent-based gas capture system, or any combination thereof. Examples are provided below with reference to Figures 2 and 3. A steam supply line 176 is coupled to the gas capture system 164 and supplies a heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) to the gas capture system 164 as a steam stream and / or a heated water stream. As mentioned above, the steam supply system 170 may include one or more steam supply lines (e.g., line 176) coupled at one or more locations to the HRSG 14 and / or steam turbine system 16 so that heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) may be supplied to the gas capture system 164 at various conditions (e.g., pressure, temperature, steam content, water content, etc.). The discharge line 208 may include various post-processing equipment, such as a dryer 210 configured to remove moisture (e.g., water or steam) indicated by a discharge conduit or line 212 and dry the captured gas 194 to produce a dried captured gas. The captured gas 194 then flows to the compression system 188, as described below. In the power consumption mode, gas capture system 164 selectively removes a portion of the undesired gas from the air stream, discharges the treated air stream (e.g., the upstream or first stage treated air stream) to gas capture system 166, and discharges the trapped gas portion of trapped gas 194 as indicated by discharge conduit or line 208. The heat source used during the power consumption mode may include one or more different heat sources, such as an electric heater and / or a heat exchanger.

[0045] Similarly, in the power generation mode of the combined cycle power plant 10, the gas capture system 166 removes a portion of the undesired gases from the exhaust gas stream 68, discharges the treated exhaust gas stream (e.g., downstream or second stage treated exhaust gas) to a subsequent gas capture system or exhaust stack 214, and discharges the captured gas portion of the captured gas 194 as indicated by discharge conduit or line 216. As described in further detail below, the gas capture system 166 may include a sorbent-based gas capture system, a solvent-based gas capture system, or any combination thereof. Examples are provided below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. A steam supply line 176 is coupled to the gas capture system 166 and supplies a heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) to the gas capture system 166 as a steam stream and / or a heated water stream. As mentioned above, the steam supply system 170 may include one or more steam supply lines (e.g., line 176) coupled at one or more locations to the HRSG 14 and / or steam turbine system 16 so that heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) can be supplied to the gas capture system 166 at various conditions (e.g., pressure, temperature, steam content, water content, etc.). The discharge line 216, as indicated by discharge conduit or line 220, may include various post-processing equipment, such as a dryer 218 configured to remove moisture (e.g., water or steam) and dry the captured gas 194 to produce a dried captured gas. The captured gas 194 then flows to the compression system 188, as described below. In the power consumption mode, the gas capture system 166 selectively removes a portion of the undesired gas from the air stream, exhausts the treated air stream (e.g., a downstream or second stage treated air stream) to a subsequent gas capture system or exhaust stack 214, and exhausts the trapped gas portion of the trapped gas 194 as indicated by exhaust conduit or line 216. The heat source used during the power consumption mode may include one or more different heat sources, such as an electric heater and / or a heat exchanger.

[0046] Compression system 188 may include a single-stage or multi-stage compression system. In the illustrated embodiment, compression system 188 includes one or more first or upstream compressors 222 configured to compress captured gas 194 at one or more upstream stages, one or more second or downstream compressors 224 configured to compress captured gas 194 after compression by compressors 222, and one or more intercoolers 226 configured to cool captured gas 194 between compressors 222 and 224. Intercooler 226 may include heat exchangers, gas dryers, and / or other equipment to facilitate gas compression. Compression system 188 outputs compressed captured gas 194 at a specified pressure and gas purity to a storage unit and / or pipeline 228, as indicated by discharge conduit or line 230. As mentioned above, the waste heat recovery system 186 may be coupled to the compression system 188 to extract waste heat that may be used as a heat source for the gas processing system 18 (e.g., the gas capture system 160), improved plant efficiency, or other uses. The waste heat recovery system 186 may be coupled to one or more of the compressor 222, the compressor 224, and / or the intercooler 226.

[0047] As mentioned above, gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166 may vary depending on their location in combined cycle power plant 10. For example, gas capture system 162 may be designed to process low concentrations of undesirable gases, such as CO at or near typical atmospheric concentration levels, thereby ensuring that gas capture system 162 is configured to reduce the concentration of CO to a level below typical atmospheric concentration levels (e.g., less than about 420 ppmv CO). For example, gas capture system 162 may be configured to reduce the concentration of CO by at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of typical atmospheric concentration levels. In some particular embodiments, to achieve such concentration levels, gas capture system 162 may be sized substantially larger than gas capture systems 164 and 166 to allow sufficient residence time for the gas (e.g., air being processed within gas capture system 162). In some particular embodiments, gas capture system 162 may be excluded from gas processing system 18.

[0048] In contrast, gas capture system 164 may be designed to handle higher concentrations of undesired gases than gas capture systems 162 and / or 166, while gas capture system 166 may be designed to handle lower or moderate concentrations of undesired gases than gas capture systems 162 and / or 164. For example, gas capture system 164 may be designed to handle at least 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 times or more of the concentration of CO2 than gas capture system 162, while gas capture system 166 may be designed to handle at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 times or more of the concentration of CO2 than gas capture system 162. By way of further example, gas capture system 164 may be designed to process at least 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, or more times the concentration of CO2 as gas capture system 166. By way of further example, gas capture system 166 may be designed to process at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or more times the concentration of CO2 processed by gas capture system 162. In one embodiment, in the power production mode of combined cycle power plant 10, gas capture systems 164 and 166 may capture approximately 95% and 4.5%, respectively, of the total concentration of CO2 in exhaust gas stream 68, with the remaining 0.5% being emitted to exhaust stack 214. In another embodiment, gas capture systems 164 and 166 may capture approximately 90% and 9.5%, respectively, of the total concentration of CO in exhaust gas stream 68, with the remaining 0.5% being exhausted to exhaust stack 214. Thus, in a power consumption mode, embodiments of gas capture systems 162 and / or 166 may be better suited to lower concentrations of undesirable gases (e.g., CO) present in air rather than higher concentrations of undesirable gases present in exhaust gas stream 68.

[0049] In some particular embodiments, gas capture system 164 may be designed to handle an inhaled CO concentration of about 60,000 ppmw (parts per million by weight) (e.g., capturing at least 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% or more of the CO), gas capture system 162 may be designed to handle an inhaled CO concentration of about 643 ppmw (e.g., capturing at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80% or more of the CO), and gas capture system 166 may be designed to handle an inhaled CO concentration of about 3,000 ppmw (e.g., capturing at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% or more of the CO). In some particular embodiments, gas capture system 164 may be designed to capture approximately 25,000 to 100,000 ppmw of CO, gas capture system 162 may be designed to capture approximately 100 to 300 ppmw of CO, and gas capture system 166 may be designed to capture approximately 1,000 to 10,000 ppmw of CO. In some embodiments, gas capture system 164 may be designed to capture at least 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% or more of the total CO concentration in exhaust gas stream 68, while gas capture systems 162 and / or 166 may be designed to capture substantially all or a portion of the remaining CO (e.g., at least 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%, or 95% of the remaining CO) that would otherwise be present in exhaust gas stream 68. Carbon capture by gas capture system 162, which removes undesirable gases (e.g., CO) from intake air flow 60, indirectly reduces the presence of undesirable gases in exhaust gas flow 68. Again, in power consumption mode, embodiments of gas capture systems 162 and / or 166 may be better suited to lower concentrations of undesirable gases (e.g., CO) present in air rather than higher concentrations of undesirable gases present in exhaust gas flow 68.

[0050] In one particular embodiment, gas capture system 164 may be designed to capture approximately 95% of the total CO concentration in exhaust gas stream 68 (e.g., capture 95% of 60,000 ppmw, resulting in gas capture of 57,000 ppmw of CO), and gas capture systems 162 and / or 166 may be designed to capture substantially all or part of the remaining 5% of the total CO concentration in exhaust gas stream 68 (e.g., capture 2.5%, 3%, 3.5%, 4%, 4.5%, or 5% of 60,000 ppmw, resulting in partial or complete capture of another 3,000 ppmw of CO). For example, gas capture systems 162 and / or 166 may capture 90% of the remaining 5% of the total CO concentration (e.g., 90% of the 3000 ppmw CO) (or substantially 4.5%), resulting in only 300 ppmw of CO in the treated exhaust gas stream 68 being delivered to exhaust stack 214. This particular embodiment would result in a net negative carbon footprint for combined cycle power plant 10. However, various configurations of gas capture systems 160 (e.g., 162, 164, and 166) are contemplated by the present disclosure to achieve a desired carbon footprint for combined cycle power plant 10 (e.g., a low carbon, net neutral, or net negative carbon footprint).

[0051] In some embodiments, each of gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166 can include several modular gas capture units, each having a common processing capacity, with the number of modular gas capture units selected based on the concentration level (e.g., CO2 level) in the gas being processed in the particular gas capture system 162, 164, or 166. The modular gas capture units can also include modular adsorbent-based gas capture units, modular solvent-based gas capture units, or a combination thereof. In this manner, gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166 can be assembled and expanded to meet the needs of a particular location and application using the same or different types of gas capture technology.

[0052] As described above, control system 144 and monitoring system 146 are communicatively coupled to gas capture system 160 and various sensors 148 to provide monitoring and control of gas capture of undesirable gases (e.g., CO). For example, sensors 148 may include gas composition sensors configured to provide concentration levels of undesirable gases (e.g., CO) and other gases (e.g., oxygen, hydrogen) upstream, within, and / or downstream of each of gas capture systems 160. Sensors 148 may also include temperature, pressure, and flow sensors configured to provide relevant feedback regarding the flow of gases (e.g., air, exhaust gases) processed by gas capture system 160 and the flow of steam or other fluids used to support gas capture system 160. The control system 144 can use sensor feedback to adjust the operation of the gas capture system 160 depending on the concentration level of the undesirable gases and the operating mode (e.g., power generation mode or power consumption mode), such as by adjusting the properties (e.g., temperature, pressure, flow rate, and / or flow path) of the steam or other fluid within the gas capture system 160, adjusting the residence time within the gas capture system 160, activating or deactivating one or more of the gas capture systems 160, adjusting the dryers (e.g., 200, 210, and 218), adjusting the fan 202, adjusting the valve 204, adjusting the HRSG 14 and / or the extraction of the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or water content and condition, extraction point, etc.), adjusting the electric heater providing heat to the gas capture system, adjusting the gas turbine system 12 (e.g., adjusting the fuel / air ratio, combustion characteristics, fuel type, fuel additives, etc.), or any combination thereof. By coordinating various aspects of the gas processing system 18 (e.g., multiple stages of the gas capture system 160) in conjunction with the gas turbine system 12 and the HRSG 14, the combined cycle power plant 10 can be configured to provide a desired carbon footprint (e.g., a low-carbon, net-neutral, or net-negative carbon footprint).

[0053] The gas capture systems 160 (e.g., 162, 164, and 166) can be configured in a variety of ways depending on the particular demand and CO2 concentration levels and operating mode (e.g., power generation mode or power consumption mode) of the combined cycle power plant 10. Table 1 illustrates various scenarios for the gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166 in the combined cycle power plant 10. The scenarios below illustrate each of the gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166 as either n / a (e.g., not present or in operation), adsorbent-based as described below with reference to FIG. 2, or solvent-based as described below with reference to FIG. 3. The adsorbent-based and solvent-based gas capture systems can each use heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) from the HRSG 14 and / or waste heat from the waste heat recovery system 172 (e.g., 182, 184, and / or 186) as a heat source for the gas capture process. Additionally, for each of the following scenarios, the adsorbent-based systems may be the same or different in type, configuration, capacity, residence time, and / or any other characteristic. Similarly, for each of the following scenarios, the solvent-based systems may be the same or different in type, configuration, capacity, residence time, and / or any other characteristic. Finally, for each of the following scenarios, each of gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166 may include one or more stages and / or parallel flows of gas capture.

[0054] [Table 1] JPEG2026502823000003.jpg196153

[0055] As noted above, embodiments of the present disclosure include at least 58 scenarios for gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166. Additional scenarios using other gas capture technologies and / or variations of sorbent-based, solvent-based, and cryogenic gas capture systems are also contemplated. With the above in mind, Figures 2 and 3 present embodiments of sorbent-based and solvent-based gas capture systems.

[0056] In some particular embodiments, the control system 144 and the monitoring system 146 can be used to monitor and control the operation of the combined cycle power plant 10 in multiple operating modes (e.g., a power generation mode and a power consumption mode), which may depend on energy demand, energy pricing, energy credits, gas capture credits, or any combination thereof. For example, at some point, energy demand and / or energy pricing may fall to a point where it is undesirable to operate the combined cycle power plant 10 for power generation. For example, energy pricing may fall below a pricing threshold, such as low pricing, zero pricing, or negative pricing for power generation. Negative pricing may result in energy credits (e.g., monetary rewards) for stopping the supply of power to the power grid. Gas capture credits may correspond to tax credits for capturing undesirable gases, such as carbon capture credits (e.g., CO2 capture credits). When the gas turbine system 12 is not firing or combusting (e.g., fuel is not being combusted to produce combustion gases), the gas capture credit (e.g., tax credit) may be higher, resulting in gas capture (e.g., direct air capture) occurring only for the airflow without the exhaust gas stream 68. In contrast, when the gas turbine system 12 is firing or combusting (e.g., fuel is being combusted to produce combustion gases), the gas capture credit may be lower, resulting in gas capture occurring for the exhaust gas stream 68 (e.g., alone or in combination with gas capture for the airflow). Accordingly, the monitoring system 146 may be configured to monitor current energy demand, current energy pricing, energy credits, gas capture credits, or other factors that may cause a change in the operation of the combined cycle power plant 10.

[0057] Accordingly, depending on energy demand, energy pricing, energy credits, and gas capture credits, the control system 144 may modify the operation of the combined cycle power plant 10 to selectively operate in a power generation mode or a power consumption mode. For example, the power generation mode may include an ignition mode or a combustion mode of the gas turbine system 12, in which the fuel supply 46 supplies fuel to the combustor 40, which combusts the fuel-air mixture to generate hot combustion gases, which then drive the turbine section 26 to generate electricity via the motor-generator 28 operating in a generator mode. In other words, the power generation mode (e.g., the ignition mode) of the gas turbine system 12 actively combusts fuel with air to operate the gas turbine system 12 and generate electricity. In the power generation mode, the exhaust gas stream 68 also passes through the HRSG 14, which generates steam to operate the steam turbine system 16 and generate electricity via a load 116 (e.g., an electric generator). Exhaust gas stream 68 then flows through gas capture systems 164 and 166 to process exhaust gas stream 68 and obtain captured gas 194 as described above.

[0058] However, if the monitoring system 146 determines that energy demand and / or energy pricing falls below a lower threshold and / or the energy credits and gas capture credits exceed a threshold, the control system 144 may control the combined cycle power plant 10 to switch from the power generation mode to a power consumption mode. In the power consumption mode, which may also be described as a no-fire mode or no-combustion mode, the control system 144 controls the gas turbine system 12 to stop igniting or burning the fuel-air mixture in the combustor 40, thereby stopping the flow of hot combustion gases through the turbine section 26. In other words, in the power consumption mode, the gas turbine system 12 may stop supplying fuel from the fuel supply 46 to the combustor 40, stop igniting the fuel-air mixture, and therefore stop generating the hot combustion gases that would otherwise power the turbine section 26. As a result, the power consumption mode no longer powers the gas turbine system 12 via the expansion of hot combustion gases through the turbine section 26. Instead, in the power consumption mode, the control system 144 is configured to operate the motor-generator 28 in an electric motor mode (e.g., electric motor) that enables the motor-generator 28 (e.g., electric motor) to drive the rotation of the gas turbine system 12. When the motor-generator 28 (e.g., electric motor) rotates the gas turbine system 12, the compressor section 22 rotates and compresses the intake airflow 60 from the air intake section 20, thereby causing the compressed air 62 to flow through the interior of the combustor section 24 and the turbine section 26. Accordingly, the power consumption mode of the gas turbine system 12 consumes electricity to drive the rotation of the gas turbine system 12 using the motor-generator 28 (e.g., electric motor) to cause the air to flow through the interior of the compressor section 22, the combustor section 24, and the turbine section 26.

[0059] The airflow from the gas turbine system 12 may then be routed directly or indirectly to one or both of the gas capture systems 164 and 166. For example, the control system 144 may be configured to control various valves and flow controls to extract the airflow exiting the turbine section 26 so that the airflow can bypass the HRSG 14 and / or the gas capture system 164. For example, the control system 144 may be configured to control one or more air circuits (e.g., bypass flow paths or circuits) to direct the airflow from the turbine section 26 to the gas capture system 166 (or one or both of the gas capture systems 164 and 166). In some particular embodiments, as described in more detail below, the control system 144 may also be configured to control one or more air circuits (e.g., bleed lines or circuits) from the compressor section 22 to the gas capture system 166 (or one or both of the gas capture systems 164 and 166). Additionally, the control system 144 may be configured to operate one or more air movers, such as air compressors, fans, and / or blowers, to induce or force airflow through the interior of the gas turbine system 12 and / or through at least some or all of the exterior of the gas turbine system 12 to the gas capture system 166 (or one or both of the gas capture systems 164 and 166).

[0060] Gas capture system 166 (or one or both of gas capture systems 164 and 166) is then configured to treat the airflow to help treat the air in the environment. For example, gas capture system 166 can reduce undesirable gases (e.g., CO) in the environment and output captured gas 194, outputting a treated air output via exhaust stack 214. In some particular embodiments, gas capture system 166 can be used to treat the airflow without gas capture systems 162 and 164. In some embodiments, gas capture system 166 can be used in combination with gas capture system 162 and / or gas capture system 164 to treat the airflow to obtain captured gas 194 for air treatment and capture of undesirable gases (e.g., CO).

[0061] In the power consumption mode, the gas capture systems 162, 164, and / or 166 can use heat from one or more heat sources to aid in the gas capture process. However, in the power consumption mode, the gas turbine system 12 does not fire to generate combustion gases, and therefore the HRSG 14 does not transfer heat from the exhaust gas stream 68 to water to generate steam, and therefore the HRSG 14 cannot generate steam for operation of the steam turbine system 16. Accordingly, the control system 144 can shut down operation of the HRSG 14 and the steam turbine system 16 during the power consumption mode. In some embodiments, with low, zero, or negative energy pricing, the control system 144 can be configured to operate the HRSG 14 using heat provided by an electric heater so that steam can be used as a heat source for the gas capture systems 162, 164, and / or 166. However, in other embodiments, HRSG 14 and steam turbine system 16 do not operate during the power consumption mode, and one or more different heat sources (e.g., electric heaters) may be used to provide heat to gas capture systems 162, 164, and / or 166. For example, electric heaters may be used to directly or indirectly heat the solvent in a solvent-based gas capture system, the adsorbent material in an adsorbent-based gas capture system, or a combination thereof.

[0062] Additionally, in some particular embodiments, one or more additional combustion systems, such as additional gas turbine systems, reciprocating engine systems, furnaces, or other combustion systems, may be configured to supply hot combustion gases to the HRSG 14 for steam generation to operate the steam turbine system 16 and / or to supply exhaust gases to the gas capture systems 164 and 166. For example, if another combustion system continues to operate in a power generation mode while the gas turbine system 12 operates in a power consumption mode, the exhaust gases from the other combustion system can still be used, along with the airflow supplied to one or more of the gas capture systems 162, 164, and / or 166, to operate the HRSG 14 and steam turbine system 16 of the combined cycle power plant 10 and / or to continue exhaust gas processing through the gas capture systems 164 and 166.

[0063] In some particular embodiments, the control system 144 and the monitoring system 146 may be used to monitor and control the operation of the combined cycle power plant 10 in multiple load-based operating modes (e.g., full load mode and part load mode) associated with the power generation mode, where the part load mode may be less than or equal to approximately 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of the full load operating condition of the combined cycle power plant 10. In the part load mode, the control system 144 may be configured to route one or more airflows through the gas capture systems 162, 164, and / or 166 in addition to the exhaust gas flowing through the gas capture systems 164 and 166. For example, during the part load mode, the gas turbine system 12 may produce a substantially reduced flow rate or amount of exhaust gas for processing by the gas capture systems 164 and 166, which results in some unused processing capacity for gas processing in the gas capture systems 164 and 166. As an example, the part-load mode may result in the use of only 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of the capacity of the gas capture systems 164 and 166. The unused capacity may be based on the flow rate of the exhaust gas, the percentage of undesirable gases in the exhaust gas, the rated capacity of the gas capture systems 164 and 166, or various other factors. The control system 144 may selectively enable airflow to one or both of the gas capture systems 164 and 166 during the part-load mode, thereby removing or capturing undesirable gases (e.g., CO) from both the exhaust gas and the ambient air. Additionally, the gas capture systems 164 and 166 may use excess heat available from the exhaust gas and / or steam from the HRSG 14 to assist in desorbing undesirable gases from the adsorbent material, stripping undesirable gases from the solvent, or any combination thereof, depending on the configuration of the gas capture systems 164 and 166. The part-load mode may be used in conjunction with the power generation mode in any of the embodiments described in detail below.

[0064] While gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166 can include a variety of configurations and gas capture processes, Figures 2 and 3 illustrate possible implementations that can be used for one or more of gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166. Additionally, Figures 4-7 illustrate possible implementations of gas treatment system 18 for treating exhaust gases and air in different modes, such as a power generating mode and a power consuming mode. Figure 8 illustrates a process for operating gas treatment system 18 according to the embodiment shown in Figures 1-7.

[0065] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the gas capture system 160 of the multi-stage gas processing system 18 of Figure 1, showing a sorbent-based gas capture system 250. In the illustrated embodiment, the sorbent-based gas capture system 250 includes a sorbent-based gas capture assembly or unit 252 (e.g., an adsorber or adsorption unit) having a plurality of sorbent-containing conduits 254, such as sorbent-containing conduits 256 and 258. The sorbent-containing conduits 254 (e.g., 256 and 258) may be lined with sorbent along their interior surfaces, packed with sorbent within their interior volumes, or generally filled with at least 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% or more by volume of sorbent material. However, the sorbent-based gas capture unit 252 may include any number of sorbent-containing conduits 254, such as two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or more, configured in parallel and / or series. Each of the sorbent-containing conduits 254 (e.g., 256 and 258) includes an outer conduit wall 260 circumferentially disposed about a flow path 262 along a central axis 264 from an inlet 266 to an outlet 268, with a sorbent material 270 disposed along and / or within a central bore or inner surface 272 of the outer conduit wall 260.

[0066] The sorbent material 270 (e.g., solid sorbent) may cover, coat, or generally line at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 100% of the inner surface 272 of the outer conduit wall 260. Additionally or alternatively, the sorbent material 270 may at least partially fill or pack the interior volume of the central bore or inner surface 272 to leave voids facilitating fluid flow (e.g., void fraction of 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50% or less). For example, the sorbent material 270 may include a plurality of particles, beads, strips, strands, mesh, or other dispersed structure that leaves voids for fluid flow. In some particular embodiments, the sorbent material 270 may be bonded to one or more internal structures within the sorbent-containing conduit 254, such as, for example, one or more of a wire grid or mesh structure, a radial projection structure, a baffle structure, a fin structure, a honeycomb structure, or any combination thereof. Additionally, in some embodiments, the central axis 264 extending from the inlet 266 to the outlet 268 can define the flow path 262 as a straight flow path, a curved flow path, a winding or serpentine flow path, a spiral or helical flow path, a serpentine flow path, an expanding and contracting flow path, a flow path with divisions and / or joins, or any combination thereof. For example, the flow path 262 can be defined as a serpentine flow path and can include any number or configuration of the aforementioned flow paths. The sorbent material 270 can include one or more sorbent materials configured to adsorb undesired gases, for example, carbon oxides (CO), such as carbon dioxide (CO) and carbon monoxide (CO). X ), nitrogen oxides (NO X ), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and other sulfur oxides (SO XThe adsorbent material 270 may include adsorbent materials designed or suitable for adsorption of CO2, methane (CH4), or any other undesirable gas described herein or considered a regulated and / or greenhouse gas. For example, the adsorbent material 270 may include mesoporous silica, zeolites (e.g., aluminosilicates), and porous solid phase materials including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs). The aforementioned adsorbent materials 270 may be particularly well suited for CO2 adsorption in the adsorbent-based gas capture unit 252. However, any suitable adsorbent material 270 may be used depending on the desired goal of gas capture of the undesirable gas. In some particular embodiments, multiple adsorbent-based gas capture systems 250 may be used in series, each using the same or different adsorbent materials 270 to sequentially remove and capture the same or different undesirable gases.

[0067] The sorbent-based gas capture system 250 may be configured to alternate the various sorbent-based gas capture units 252 between an adsorption mode (e.g., adsorbing undesirable gases onto the sorbent material 270) and a desorption mode (e.g., desorbing undesirable gases from the sorbent material 270) using the controller 150 of the control system 144 and the sensors 148 of the monitoring system 146. For example, using the controller 150, the sorbent-based gas capture system 250 may operate the sorbent-based gas capture unit 256 in an adsorption mode while operating the sorbent-based gas capture unit 258 in a desorption mode, or vice versa. The sorbent-based gas capture system 250 can also be configured to operate multiple units (e.g., two, three, four, or more) of the sorbent-based gas capture units 252 in adsorption mode while operating multiple units (e.g., two, three, four, or more) of the sorbent-based gas capture units 252 in desorption mode, and the multiple units can be arranged in series, parallel, or a combination thereof. The controller 150 is configured to alternate the sorbent-based gas capture units 252 between adsorption and desorption modes via multiple upstream and downstream systems, such as an upstream flow distribution system 274 and a downstream flow distribution system 276. The upstream flow distribution system 274 includes a heated fluid supply system 278 (e.g., a steam and / or heated water supply system) and a gas supply system 280, and the downstream flow distribution system 276 includes a post-desorption processing system 282 (e.g., a gas, steam, and / or heated water processing system) and a treated gas processing system 284. The heated fluid supply system 278 may rely on steam 168 generated using waste heat and / or heat from combustion within the gas turbine system 12 during the power generation mode of the combined cycle power plant 10, while the heated fluid supply system 278 may rely on steam 168 generated using electric heaters, waste heat, and / or other available heat sources during the power consumption mode of the combined cycle power plant 10.In some embodiments, the steam 168 may be replaced or supplemented with other heated fluids that are heated directly or indirectly via an electric heater or other heating arrangement, particularly if needed in a power consuming mode.

[0068] For the desorption mode, the sorbent-based gas capture unit 252 may be configured to pass the heated fluid 168 through the sorbent-containing conduit 254 in direct contact with the sorbent material 270 (e.g., direct heat transfer), through or around the sorbent-containing conduit 254 via one or more heat exchange conduits without contacting the sorbent material 270 (e.g., indirect heat transfer), or a combination thereof. Again, one or more additional heat sources (e.g., electric heaters) may be used to provide heat to the sorbent material 270. In some specific embodiments of the desorption mode described below, the sorbent-based gas capture unit 252 can directly route the heated fluid 168 through the sorbent material 270 in the sorbent-containing conduit 254 to desorb the undesired gases (e.g., CO) into the heated fluid 168 and generate a gas / heated fluid stream for further processing, or the sorbent-based gas capture unit 252 can use the heated fluid 168 for indirect heat transfer to the sorbent material 270 for desorption of the undesired gases while employing a separate flow directing system (e.g., a vacuum system) to direct the undesired gases downstream for further processing. For example, the vacuum system can include one or more fans, blowers, or pumps that draw flow and / or generate a vacuum to direct flow from the sorbent-containing conduit 254 to downstream processing components. Additionally, in some embodiments, the heated fluid 168 can be water heated using steam, waste heat, and / or an electric heater to produce heated water, which is then sent through the sorbent-based gas capture unit 252 for direct contact with the sorbent material 270 and desorption of undesired gases from the sorbent material 270. Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure can use various heated fluids 168 (e.g., steam, heated water, fluid heated by steam, or combinations thereof) as heat sources that can directly or indirectly apply heat to the sorbent material 270 to facilitate the desorption process.

[0069] In some particular embodiments, a continuous process of rotating the wheel of sorbent material 270 through adsorption, desorption, and cooling can be performed to provide a continuous flow of captured undesired gases. For example, the wheel of sorbent material 270 can extend into each of a plurality of conduits 254 and rotate continuously through the conduits 254. During wheel rotation, one or more of the conduits 254 flows a gas 286 to be treated to remove undesired gases, while one or more of the conduits 254 simultaneously flows a heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) to remove and capture undesired gases (e.g., CO) to produce captured gas 194. For desorption, the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) can be routed or generally configured to provide direct and / or indirect heat transfer to the sorbent material 270, thereby assisting in separating and capturing the undesired gases.

[0070] In the illustrated embodiment, the upstream flow distribution system 274 is configured to distribute the flow and alternating flow (e.g., when changing between adsorption and desorption modes) of the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) and gas 286 (e.g., inlet air stream 60 and / or exhaust gas stream 68) to the multiple sorbent-containing conduits 254 (e.g., 256 and 258) of the sorbent-based gas capture unit 252. The heated fluid supply system 278 includes one or more steam supplies, heated water supplies, waste heat supplies, and / or electric heaters. For example, the heated fluid supply system 278 may include the HRSG 14 and the waste heat recovery system 172 (e.g., 182, 184, and / or 186), which may be configured to produce the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water). The heated fluid supply system 278 also includes a heated fluid control section 288 (e.g., a steam and / or heated fluid control section) having one or more heated fluid control components 290, 292, and 294 that may be configured to process, adjust, and / or control the properties of the heated fluid 168 upstream of the sorbent-containing conduits 254 (e.g., 256 and 258) of the sorbent-based gas capture unit 252. For example, the heated fluid control component 290 may include a thermal control component (e.g., a steam / hot water temperature control component) such as a heat exchanger, an electric heater, a cooler, or any combination thereof configured to adjust (e.g., raise or lower) the temperature of the heated fluid 168. The heat exchanger may exchange heat with water, a lubricant, a coolant, a refrigerant, or some other thermal fluid. In some embodiments, the waste heat recovery system 172 may be used for heat transfer in the heater exchanger. Heated fluid control components 292 may include pressure control components such as a pressure regulator, an expander or expansion chamber, a constrictor or constriction chamber, a fan or pump for adding energy, a turbine for extracting energy, or another suitable pressure controller.Heated fluid control component 294 may include pretreatment components such as particulate filters, chilled water drains, and / or other pretreatment components configured to modify the properties of or remove contaminants from heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water). Heated fluid supply system 278 may also include one or more valves 296 configured to control the distribution of heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) to multiple sorbent-containing conduits 254 (e.g., 256 and 258) of sorbent-based gas capture unit 252, as indicated by distribution conduits or lines 298 and 300. For example, valve 296 may include one or more two-way valves, three-way valves, or distribution manifolds for distributing heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) in response to control signals from controller 150.

[0071] To distribute the gas 286, the gas supply system 280 of the upstream flow distribution system 274 includes a gas pre-treatment section 302 having one or more gas pre-treatment components 304, 306, and 308 that may be configured to treat, condition, and / or control the characteristics of the gas 286 (e.g., the inlet air stream 60 or the exhaust gas stream 68) upstream of the sorbent-containing conduits 254 (e.g., 256 and 258) of the sorbent-based gas capture unit 252. For example, the gas pre-treatment component 304 may include a thermal control component (e.g., a gas temperature control component) such as a heat exchanger, an electric heater, a cooler, or any combination thereof, configured to adjust (e.g., raise or lower) the temperature of the gas 286. The heat exchanger may exchange heat with water, exhaust gas, a compressor bleed stream, waste heat, or some other thermal fluid. In some embodiments, the waste heat recovery system 172 may be used for heat transfer in the heater exchanger. Gas pre-treatment component 306 may include pressure control components such as a pressure regulator, an expander or expansion chamber, a constrictor or constriction chamber, a fan or pump for adding energy, a turbine for extracting energy, or another suitable pressure controller. Gas pre-treatment component 308 may include one or more contaminant removal units, such as a particulate filter, a moisture removal unit or dryer, a chemical removal unit, and / or other removal units configured to purify gas 286. Gas supply system 280 may also include one or more valves 310 configured to control the distribution of gas 286 to the multiple sorbent-containing conduits 254 (e.g., 256 and 258) of sorbent-based gas capture unit 252, as indicated by distribution conduits or lines 312 and 314. For example, valve 310 may include one or more two-way valves, three-way valves, or distribution manifolds, perforated plates, and / or flow distribution packings for distributing gas 286 in response to control signals from controller 150.

[0072] The downstream flow distribution system 276 is configured to distribute flow and alternating flow (e.g., when changing between adsorption and desorption modes) from the multiple adsorbent-containing conduits 254 (e.g., 256 and 258) of the adsorbent-based gas capture unit 252 to a post-desorption processing system 282 and a treated gas processing system 284. The post-desorption processing system 282 may include one or more valves 316 configured to control the distribution of the captured gas / heated fluid flow (e.g., gas, steam, and / or heated water) from the multiple adsorbent-containing conduits 254 (e.g., 256 and 258) of the adsorbent-based gas capture unit 252, as indicated by distribution conduits or lines 318 and 320. For example, the valve 316 may include one or more two-way valves, three-way valves, or manifolds for collecting the captured gas / heated fluid flow in response to control signals from the controller 150. In some particular embodiments, the captured gas / heated fluid stream is the result of a desorption mode, in which heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) is directed through sorbent-containing conduits 254 to desorb undesired gases (e.g., CO) from the sorbent material 270 within each sorbent-containing conduit 254. Accordingly, post-desorption processing system 282 may also include a post-desorption processor 322 having one or more post-desorption processing components 324, 326, and 328 (e.g., gas, steam, and / or heated water processing components) that may be configured to process, adjust, and / or control the characteristics of the captured gas / heated fluid stream (e.g., gas, steam, and / or heated water stream) from the sorbent-containing conduits 254 (e.g., 256 and 258) of the sorbent-based gas capture unit 252. For example, the post-desorption processing component 324 may include a trapped gas / heated fluid separator configured to separate the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) from the trapped gas, thereby outputting water 330 (e.g., condensate) and the trapped gas 194. Examples of trapped gas / heated fluid separators include a thermal control component, a pressure control component, a chemical separation component, or a combination thereof.For example, the trapped gas / heated fluid separator may be configured to condense or cool the heated fluid 168 using a condenser. The post-desorption processing component 326 may include one or more removal units configured to remove contaminants from the water 330 and / or the trapped gas 194. For the water 330, the removal unit may include a particulate filter and / or a water treatment unit. For the trapped gas 194, the removal unit may include a particulate filter, a water removal unit or a dryer, or an additional gas treatment unit. The post-desorption processing component 328 may include one or more pressure and / or flow control components, such as one or more pumps for the water 330 and one or more compressors for the trapped gas 194. The post-desorption processing component 328 may also include one or more vacuum pumps configured to draw the trapped gas / heated fluid flow from the adsorbent-based gas capture unit 252.

[0073] With respect to the distribution of gas 286, treated gas processing system 284 of downstream flow distribution system 276 may include one or more valves 332 configured to control the distribution of treated gas streams from the multiple sorbent-containing conduits 254 (e.g., 256 and 258) of sorbent-based gas capture unit 252, as indicated by distribution conduits or lines 334 and 336. For example, valve 332 may include one or more two-way valves, three-way valves, or manifolds for collecting the treated gas streams and thereby outputting treated gas 338 in response to control signals from controller 150. The treated gas is the result of an adsorption mode in which gas 286 (e.g., inlet air stream 60 or exhaust gas stream 68) is directed through sorbent-containing conduits 254 to adsorb undesired gases (e.g., CO) onto the sorbent material 270 in each sorbent-containing conduit 254, thereby reducing the content or concentration level of the undesired gas in the remaining treated gas stream.

[0074] The control system 144 (e.g., the controller 150) is configured to receive feedback from the sensors 148 to facilitate adjustment of various operating parameters of the sorbent-based gas capture unit 252. For example, the control system 144 may be configured to selectively operate one or more heat sources to provide heat for desorption depending on the operating mode of the combined cycle power plant 10, such as a power generation mode and a power consumption mode. In some particular embodiments, the control system 144 may selectively supply steam and / or heated water from the HRSG 14 during the power generation mode, while the control system 144 may selectively supply heat using one or more electric heaters during the power consumption mode.

[0075] As a further example, the control system 144 may be configured to alternate flows (e.g., thermal fluid 168 and gas 286) through multiple sorbent-containing conduits 254 (e.g., 256 and 258) such that the sorbent-containing conduits 254 can alternate between an adsorption mode and a desorption mode. In the adsorption mode, the sorbent-containing conduit 254 (e.g., 256 or 258) receives a flow of gas 286, adsorbs undesirable gases (e.g., CO) from the gas 286 onto the sorbent material 270, and outputs the gas 286 with reduced content or concentration levels of the undesirable gas as treated gas 338. The adsorption mode is an exothermic process, producing heat that is carried away with the treated gas 338. In the desorption mode, the sorbent-containing conduit 254 (e.g., 256 or 258) receives a flow of heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water), desorbs undesired gases (e.g., CO) from the sorbent material 270 into the heated fluid 168, and outputs the heated fluid 168 with the desorbed undesired gases (e.g., enriched in undesired gases such as CO) as a trapped gas / heated fluid stream. The desorption mode is an endothermic process, in which the heated fluid 168 provides sufficient heat (e.g., directly or indirectly) to drive the desorption of the undesired gases (e.g., CO) from the sorbent material 270.

[0076] Control system 144 is configured to monitor sensors 148, such as sensors 148 at or upstream of inlet 266 and sensors 148 at or downstream of outlet 268, to assess the adsorption and desorption rates, concentration levels of undesirable gases, and other characteristics that affect the adsorption and desorption modes in each adsorbent-containing conduit 254 (e.g., 256 and 258). If sensors 148 indicate a need to alternate the modes (e.g., adsorption and desorption modes) of adsorbent-containing conduits 254 (e.g., 256 and 258), control system 144 may be configured to control valves 296, 310, 316, and 332 to change the flow of heated fluid 168 from gas 286 in one of the adsorbent-containing conduits 254 and change the flow of gas 286 from heated fluid 168 in another of the adsorbent-containing conduits 254. For the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) used in one of the sorbent-containing conduits 254, the control system 144 may be configured to control the HRSG 14, the waste heat recovery system 172, the heated fluid control 288, one or more electric heaters, or any combination thereof, to control the properties (e.g., temperature, pressure, flow rate, steam content, water content, etc.) of the heated fluid 168. For the gas 286 used in one of the sorbent-containing conduits 254, the control system 144 may be configured to control the gas pre-treatment unit 302 to control the properties (e.g., temperature, pressure, flow rate, etc.) of the gas 286. Similarly, the control system 144 is configured to control the post-desorption processor 322 to control the processing of the captured gas / heated fluid exiting one or more of the sorbent-containing conduits 254.

[0077] For a multi-stage gas processing system 18, the control system 144 also coordinates control among the multiple gas capture systems 160 based on the operating mode of the combined cycle power plant 10, thereby providing the desired reduction in concentration levels of undesirable gases (e.g., CO) to achieve a desired carbon footprint (e.g., a low-carbon, net-neutral, or net-negative carbon footprint). Additionally, after desorption is complete and before adsorption, a flow of cold water or other coolant can be added through the adsorbent-based gas capture unit 252 to cool the adsorbent-containing conduit 254 to a desired temperature before the next adsorption step.

[0078] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the gas capture system 160 of the multi-stage gas processing system 18 of FIG. 1 , illustrating a solvent-based gas capture system 350. The solvent-based gas capture system 350 includes an absorber 352, a solvent supply system 354, and a solvent exhaust system 356. The solvent-based gas capture system 350 may use one or more solvents to capture undesired gases. Example solvents include monoethanolamine (MEA), diglycolamine (DGA), high-performance amine solvents, amino acid salts, carbonate solvents, aqueous ammonia, immiscible liquids, and ionic liquids. As described below, the solvent-based gas capture system 350 uses heated fluid 168 (e.g., from the HRSG 14), waste heat (e.g., from the waste heat recovery system 172), and / or other heat sources (e.g., electric heaters) to facilitate gas capture of undesired gases.

[0079] As described in further detail below, the solvent supply system 354 is configured to supply a gas-lean solvent 358 into the absorber 352 via a conduit 360 coupled to a solvent distributor 362 having a plurality of nozzles 364. The nozzles 364 are configured to output a solvent dispersion 366 into an interior volume 368 of the absorber 352. The solvent dispersion 366 helps to distribute the gas-lean solvent 358 more evenly throughout the interior volume 368 so that the solvent has a more uniform temperature distribution as it flows downward through the absorber 352 toward the solvent exhaust system 356. The conduit 360 is coupled to a solvent inlet 370 of the absorber 352, while the solvent exhaust system 356 is coupled to a solvent outlet 372 of the absorber 352.

[0080] The solvent discharge system 356 is configured to receive the gas-enriched solvent 374 from the solvent outlet 372 and deliver the gas-enriched solvent 374 to the solvent regeneration system 376. The solvent discharge system 356 also includes a gas compressor 378 downstream of the solvent regeneration system 376, a gas dryer 380 downstream of the gas compressor 378, and an outlet for the captured gas 194 downstream of the gas dryer 380. The solvent discharge system 356 also provides a return conduit 382 from the solvent regeneration system 376 back to the solvent supply system 354 so that the regenerated solvent can be returned to the solvent supply system 354 as the gas-lean solvent 358.

[0081] The absorber 352 also includes a gas inlet 384 configured to receive the gas 286 (e.g., the inlet air stream 60 or the exhaust gas stream 68) into the absorber 352 and a gas outlet 386 configured to discharge the treated gas 338 from the absorber 352. In the illustrated embodiment, the absorber 352 includes a vessel or housing 388 having a top 390, a bottom 392, and a middle section 394 axially disposed between the top 390 and the bottom 392 relative to a central axis 396 of the housing 388. The following description may refer to an axial direction or axis 398 located along the central axis 396, a radial direction or axis 400 that intersects or is perpendicular to the central axis 396, and a circumferential direction or axis 402 that extends circumferentially around the central axis 396. The top 390 includes a top plate or cover 404 having a gas outlet 386 coaxial with the central axis 396. However, the gas outlet 386 may be located offset from the central axis 396 or located elsewhere along the top 390 .

[0082] The middle portion 394 includes a sidewall 406 that extends circumferentially 402 about a central axis 396. For example, the sidewall 406 may be an annular sidewall, a square sidewall, a rectangular sidewall, or any other suitable shape that extends about the central axis 396. In some particular embodiments, the gas outlet 386 may be disposed in the sidewall 406 along the top portion 390. Additionally, the solvent inlet 370 may be located in the top plate or cover 404 or along the sidewall 406 in the top portion 390.

[0083] The bottom 392 may include a base plate 408 below the gas inlet 384 and solvent outlet 372. In the illustrated embodiment, the gas inlet 384 and solvent outlet 372 are located on the sidewall 406 along the bottom 392. However, in some particular embodiments, the gas inlet 384 and / or solvent outlet 372 may be located on the base plate 408 at the bottom 392. In some embodiments, the gas inlet 384 may include multiple gas inlets and / or the solvent outlet 372 may include multiple solvent outlets.

[0084] Within the interior volume 368 of the absorber 352, the absorber 352 may further include one or more sets of packing 410, a support tray or screen 412, and a solvent distributor 414 having a plurality of nozzles 416. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the absorber 352 includes four sets of components (e.g., packing 410, support tray or screen 412, and solvent distributor 414) installed between the solvent distributor 362 and a bottom 392 having a gas inlet 384 and a solvent outlet 372. The packing 410 may include a plurality of beads, balls, or mixture-directing structures configured to facilitate mixing between the gas 286 and the gas-lean solvent 358 supplied to the interior volume 368 of the absorber 352. The support tray or screen 412 may include a wire mesh, a plate with a plurality of openings, or another suitable structure that holds the packing 410 in place while allowing fluid flow of the gas and solvent through the support tray or screen 412 in opposite directions through the absorber 352. The solvent distributor 414 may be similar to the solvent distributor 362, such that the nozzles 416 may be evenly distributed throughout the interior volume 368 to output a solvent dispersion 418 to better distribute the solvent passing through the packing 410 and support tray or screen 412. The set of packing 410, support tray or screen 412, and solvent distributor 414 are spaced apart from one another along the central axis 396. However, this spacing may be increased, decreased, or eliminated in some particular embodiments of the absorber 352.

[0085] During operation, the absorber 352 is configured to create a cross-current or counter-current flow of the gas 286 with the gas-lean solvent 358 within the interior volume 368, thereby facilitating gas absorption of certain undesirable gases (e.g., CO) from the gas 286 into the gas-lean solvent 358. As shown, at the bottom 392, the gas 286 enters the absorber 352 through the gas inlet 384, and the gas 286 flows upwardly through the interior volume 368 of the absorber 352, as indicated by arrow 420. The gas 286 entering the absorber 352, as indicated by arrow 420, can form bubbles of the gas 286 that rise upwardly through the gas-lean solvent 358 within the interior volume 368. The gas 286 then passes through each subsequent stage or set of packing 410, support trays or screens 412, and solvent distributor 414.

[0086] In the upper portion 390, the solvent supply system 354 supplies the gas-lean solvent 358 to the interior volume 368 via a solvent inlet 370, a conduit 360, a solvent distributor 362, and a plurality of nozzles 364. Again, the nozzles 364 may be distributed at various locations throughout the interior volume 368 to help distribute the gas-lean solvent 358 more evenly throughout the interior volume 368, as indicated by the solvent dispersion 366. The gas-lean solvent 358 then flows downward through the interior volume 368 through each subsequent set or stage of packing 410, support trays or screens 412, and a solvent distributor 414 having nozzles 416. As the gas-lean solvent 358 passes through each packing 410, various beads, balls, or mixing structures within the packing 410 are configured to help mix the gas-lean solvent 358 with the gas 286, thereby helping to absorb various undesirable gases from the gas 286 into the gas-lean solvent 358. For example, the gas-lean solvent 358 may be configured to absorb carbon dioxide (CO) or other undesirable gases, as described in detail above. As the absorption process occurs, heat is generated within the absorber 352, thereby increasing the temperature of the solvent within the absorber 352. In some particular embodiments, a thermal control system (e.g., a heat exchanger, cooler, etc.) may be coupled to the absorber 352 to control the temperature and improve the efficiency of the absorption process. The absorption process continues within each set or stage of packing 410, support trays or screens 412, and solvent distributor 414. Between each stage or set, the solvent distributor 414 helps to better distribute the solvent, as indicated by solvent dispersion 418. The solvent dispersion 418 may help to ensure uniform mixing of the solvent with the gas 286 and a more uniform temperature distribution. The absorption process is repeated within each set or stage of packing 410, support trays or screens 412, and solvent distributor 414.

[0087] Finally, absorber 352 discharges gas-rich solvent 374 at bottom 392 through solvent outlet 372, and absorber 352 discharges treated gas 338 at top 390 through gas outlet 386. Treated gas 338 may be substantially free of or may have been stripped of one or more undesirable gases (e.g., CO). In contrast, gas-rich solvent 374 may have absorbed one or more undesirable gases (e.g., CO). Accordingly, gas-rich solvent 374 may be described as a CO2-rich solvent (or other gas-rich solvent, depending on the undesirable gas), while gas-lean solvent 358 may be described as a CO2-lean solvent (or other gas-lean solvent, depending on the undesirable gas), with the specific gas absorption occurring in absorber 352. Similarly, gas 286 may be described as a CO2-containing or enriched gas (or other gas-containing or enriched gas depending on the undesired gas), while treated gas 338 may be described as a CO2-depleted, lean, or free gas (or other gas-depleted, lean, or free lean gas depending on the undesired gas), with specific gas absorption occurring in absorber 352. Gas absorption as described herein is intended to cover any one or more of the undesired gases described herein, or any other regulated gases or greenhouse gases.

[0088] The gas-enriched solvent 374 output from the absorber 352 flows into a solvent regeneration system 376, which may be configured to capture undesired gases (e.g., CO) in the gas-enriched solvent 374 and regenerate the solvent (e.g., remove the undesired gases (e.g., CO) for reuse as the gas-lean solvent 358). In the illustrated embodiment, the solvent-based gas capture system 350 includes a steam supply system 422 coupled to the solvent regeneration system 376 to facilitate solvent regeneration and capture of the captured gas 194. In particular, the steam supply system 422 includes one or more sources of heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water), such as the HRSG 14, the waste heat recovery systems 172 (e.g., 182, 184, and 186), and / or other heat sources (e.g., electric heaters). The steam supply system 422 can inject the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) directly into the solvent regeneration system 376 for solvent regeneration and capture of the captured gas 194. In some embodiments, the steam supply system 422 can further treat and / or control the properties of the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) before injecting it into the solvent regeneration system 376, such as, for example, temperature control and / or pressure control. In some embodiments, the steam supply system 422 can use the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) and / or waste heat from the waste heat recovery system 172 as an indirect heat source for the absorber 352 and / or to generate steam in a boiler. In each of these embodiments, the heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water) and waste heat from the waste heat recovery system 172 can be obtained and / or processed as described in detail above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 .

[0089] Accordingly, the undesired gas (e.g., CO) can be output from the solvent regeneration system 376 to a gas compressor 378, as indicated by arrow 424, whereby the gas compressor 378 is configured to compress the undesired gas before being dried by a gas dryer 380. The gas dryer 380 then removes the moisture content in the compressed undesired gas from the gas compressor 378 and then outputs the compressed, dried undesired gas as captured gas 194. In addition, the solvent regeneration system 376 outputs regenerated solvent as gas-lean solvent 358 that is returned to the solvent supply system 354 via a return conduit 382. The regenerated solvent is essentially the gas-enriched solvent 374 from which the undesired gas has been removed in the solvent regeneration system 376.

[0090] In the solvent supply system 354, the gas lean solvent 358, whether the original supply of gas lean solvent 358 or regenerated solvent from a solvent regeneration system 376, is supplied into the absorber 352 by one or more components 426, 428, 430, and 432. The components 426, 428, 430, and 432 may include one or more solvent pumps, a solvent filter or treatment system, one or more heat exchangers configured to cool the gas lean solvent 358, one or more solvent tanks, one or more solvent pressure regulators, one or more solvent flow meters, or any combination thereof.

[0091] 4 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the combined cycle power plant 10 of FIG. 1 , further illustrating details of a multi-mode configuration 450 for selectively operating in a power-producing mode and a power-consuming mode. The illustrated multi-mode configuration 450 includes a power-producing fluid circuit 452 and a power-consuming fluid circuit 454. The power-producing fluid circuit 452 includes an air circuit 456, a fuel circuit 458, an exhaust gas circuit 460, and multiple steam circuits 462. The power-consuming fluid circuit 454 includes multiple air circuits 464. As described in further detail below, the control system 144 is configured to selectively use the power-producing fluid circuit 452 and the power-consuming fluid circuit 454 of the multi-mode configuration 450 to change the combined cycle power plant 10 between a power-producing mode (e.g., an ignition mode or a combustion mode to generate electricity) and a power-consuming mode (e.g., a non-ignition mode or a non-combustion mode to consume electricity).

[0092] The combined cycle power plant 10 has substantially the same configuration as the combined cycle power plant 10 of FIG. 1 . However, the gas turbine system 12 is mechanically coupled to the steam turbine system 16 via a common shaft 466, such that both the gas turbine system 12 and the steam turbine system 16 are mechanically coupled to the motor-generator 28. However, in some particular embodiments, the combined cycle power plant 10 of FIG. 4 may have the gas turbine system 12 and the steam turbine system 16 separately coupled to the motor-generator 28 and the load 116 (e.g., an electric generator) without the common shaft 466, as shown in FIG. 1 . In either configuration, the combined cycle power plant 10 has various components and functions as already described in detail with reference to FIG. 1 . Accordingly, unless otherwise noted, the components and functions of the combined cycle power plant 10 of FIG. 4 are the same as those described in detail above with reference to FIGS. 1-3 . In the illustrated embodiment, the gas turbine system 12 includes an air inlet section 20, a compressor section 22, a combustor section 24 having a combustor 40, a turbine section 26, and a motor-generator 28. Additionally, combined cycle power plant 10 includes HRSG 14, gas processing system 18, and exhaust stack 214. As shown, gas processing system 18 includes gas capture systems 164 and 166. In some embodiments, gas processing system 18 also includes gas capture system 162 upstream of air inlet section 20, as shown in FIG. 1. The illustrated steam turbine system 16 includes multiple steam turbines 104, such as steam turbines 468 and 470. Although the illustrated steam turbine system 16 includes only two steam turbines 104, steam turbine system 16 may include the same steam turbine sections 106, 108, and 110 as described above with reference to FIG. 1.

[0093] In some particular embodiments, the control system 144 may be configured to switch between a power generation mode (e.g., an ignition mode) and a power consumption mode (e.g., an unignition mode) of the combined cycle power plant 10 using the power generation fluid circuit 452 and the power consumption fluid circuit 454. In the power generation mode, the gas turbine system 12 is configured to receive an intake air flow 60 from the air inlet section 20 to the compressor section 22 via the air circuit 456. The air inlet section 20 may include a plurality of air filters 472, which may be part of an air filter enclosure or filter housing. Thus, the air filters 472 are configured to filter the intake air flow 60 upstream of the compressor section 22. The intake air flow 60 passes through the compressor section 22, and the compressed air flows to the combustor 40. The fuel circuit 458 is configured to deliver fuel from a fuel supply 46 into the combustor 40, for example, into one or more fuel nozzles 44, as described above with reference to FIG. 1 . The fuel mixes with air from compressor section 22 and is combusted to generate hot combustion gases, which then flow through turbine section 26 to drive the rotation of turbine section 26. The rotation of turbine section 26 also drives the rotation of compressor section 22, common shaft 466, and motor-generator 28 (e.g., operating in generator mode to generate electricity). Turbine section 26 then discharges exhaust gas stream 68, which flows through HRSG 14 before entering gas capture systems 164 and 166 of gas processing system 18.

[0094] As shown, HRSG 14 generates steam, which is distributed through steam circuit 462. In the illustrated embodiment, steam circuit 462 includes steam circuits 474, 476, and 478. Steam circuit 474 extends from HRSG 14 to steam turbine 468, steam circuit 476 extends from HRSG 14 to steam turbine 470, and steam circuit 478 extends from HRSG 14 to gas capture systems 164 and 166 of gas processing system 18. As shown, the steam distributed along steam circuit 478 serves as a heat source 480 to enable operation of gas capture systems 164 and 166. In some embodiments, heat source 480 may include steam, heated water, or a combination thereof. Additionally, in some embodiments, heat source 480 may include one or more electric heaters to add heat to generate steam and / or heated water, such as when combined cycle power plant 10 is operating in a power consumption mode. If available, steam may be used as a heat source 480 to desorb undesired gases from a sorbent material in a sorbent-based gas capture system, to strip undesired gases from a solvent in a solvent-based gas capture system, or for any other suitable use of heat to facilitate the operation of gas capture systems 164 and 166. Steam supplied to steam turbines 468 and 470 through steam circuits 474 and 476 is used to drive the rotation of steam turbines 468 and 470, thereby helping to drive the rotation of motor-generator 28 (e.g., operating in generator mode to produce electricity). Thus, in response to the rotation imparted by gas turbine system 12 and steam turbine system 16, motor-generator 28 operates as an electric generator to generate electricity for the power grid.

[0095] As further shown, exhaust gas stream 68 flows from turbine section 26 through exhaust gas circuit 460 to exhaust stack 214, passing through duct 482, HRSG 14, duct 484, gas capture system 164, duct 486, gas capture system 166, duct 488, and exhaust stack 214. Ducts 482, 484, 486, and 488 may be duct sections of a common duct or separate duct sections between the illustrated components. Downstream of gas capture systems 164 and 166, exhaust gas stream 68 is discharged as treated gas 490 (e.g., having a reduced content of undesirable gases). Gas capture systems 164 and 166 operate as described in detail above with reference to FIG. 1 . As shown, in power generation mode, exhaust gas stream 68 is treated by both gas capture systems 164 and 166, thereby increasing the amount of gas capture performed on exhaust gas stream 68 before being discharged through exhaust stack 214. Gas capture systems 164 and 166 are configured to produce or output captured gas 194 (e.g., captured CO), which is then routed to compression system 188 for gas compression before distribution through storage / pipeline 228. In power generation mode, air circuit 464 may or may not be used to route airflow to gas capture systems 164 and / or 166 to facilitate air treatment of ambient air. Additionally, in some particular embodiments, one or more combustion systems may route exhaust gases to one or both of gas capture systems 164 and 166 for gas treatment, as described in further detail below.

[0096] In a power consumption mode of the combined cycle power plant 10, the control system 144 is configured to use the power consumption fluid circuit 454 to route one or more air flows through the air circuit 464 to one or both of the gas capture systems 164 and 166 for air treatment. For example, the power consumption fluid circuit 454 may include multiple air movers 492, such as air mover 494, air mover 496, and air mover 498. The air mover 492 may also include the compressor section 22 of the gas turbine system 12, which is configured to route the air flows through the interior of the gas turbine system 12 without combusting fuel with the air.

[0097] In the illustrated embodiment, the air mover 494 is mechanically coupled to and driven by the motor-generator 28 (e.g., operating in electric motor mode). For example, the motor-generator 28 may be coupled to the air mover 494 via a clutch 500, which in turn is coupled to the steam turbine system 16 and the gas turbine system 12 via a clutch 502. The clutches 500 and 502 may each include a clutch portion 504 and 506, such as a clutch plate or other engageable clutch member, configured to selectively engage and disengage rotation between the motor-generator 28 and the respective components, e.g., the air mover 494 and the steam turbine system 16 and the gas turbine system 12. In some embodiments, one or more additional clutches may be used to independently engage and disengage the steam turbine system 16 and the gas turbine system 12. For example, the steam turbine system 16 may be repositioned to allow for additional clutch placement locations. The clutch 500 is installed between a shaft 508 of the motor-generator and a shaft 510 of the air mover 494. The clutch 502 is disposed between a shaft 512 of the motor-generator and a shaft 514 of the steam turbine system 16 .

[0098] In the power consumption mode, motor-generator 28 may operate as an electric motor to drive the rotation of air mover 494, steam turbine system 16, and gas turbine system 12 (e.g., drive compressor section 22), only drive air mover 494, or only drive steam turbine system 16 and gas turbine system 12 (e.g., drive compressor section 22). For example, control system 144 may operate clutch 500 to connect motor-generator 28 to air mover 494 while selectively operating clutch 502 to decouple motor-generator 28 from steam turbine system 16 and gas turbine system 12, thereby allowing motor-generator 28 (e.g., operating in electric motor mode) to drive air mover 494 to provide air flow through air circuit 464. Additionally, the control system 144 can selectively operate a clutch 500 to disconnect the motor-generator 28 from the air mover 494 and a clutch 502 to connect the motor-generator 28 to the steam turbine system 16 and the gas turbine system 12, thereby enabling the motor-generator 28 (e.g., operating in electric motor mode) to drive the rotation of the steam turbine system 16 and the gas turbine system 12 (e.g., to drive the compressor section 22).

[0099] As will be appreciated, the motor-generator 28 (e.g., operating in electric motor mode) drives the rotation of the steam turbine system 16 and the gas turbine system 12, enabling the compressor section 22 to compress the intake airflow 60 in one or more compressor stages to provide the airflow to the gas capture systems 164 and / or 166 downstream of the gas turbine system 12. For example, the airflow may pass internally through the compressor section 22, the combustor section 24, and the turbine section 26 and then flow to the gas capture systems 164 and / or 166. However, in some embodiments, a portion or all of the airflow may be bled or extracted from the compressor section 22, the combustor section 24, the turbine section 26, and / or downstream of the turbine section 26 and then routed to the gas capture systems 164 and / or 166.

[0100] While compressor section 22 may be used alone as air mover 492 to direct air flow to gas capture systems 164 and / or 166, any one or more of air movers 494, 496, and 498 may also be used to direct air flow to gas capture systems 164 and / or 166. For example, air mover 492 may include air movers 496 and 498 driven by respective electric motors 516 and 518. Accordingly, electric motors 516 and 518 may be controlled by control system 144 to rotate air movers 496 and 498 to supply air flow, alone or in combination with air flow supplied by compressor section 22, through air circuit 464 to gas capture systems 164 and / or 166. In some embodiments, any one or more of air movers 492 (e.g., compressor section 22 and air movers 494, 496, and 498) can be used to supply airflow to gas capture systems 164 and / or 166 and gas capture system 162, as described above with reference to FIG. 1.

[0101] In the illustrated embodiment, the air mover 496 driven by the electric motor 516 may be disposed in or coupled to the air intake section 20 such that the air mover 496 pushes or pulls the air flow through the air filter 472 before distributing the air flow to the gas capture systems 164 and / or 166. The air mover 498 driven by the electric motor 518 may be independent of other components of the combined cycle power plant 10, such as a stand-alone air mover 498. The air movers 494, 496, and 498 may include one or more of an air compressor, a fan, a blower, or any combination thereof. In some particular embodiments, the power consuming fluid circuit 454 may also include one or more air filters 520 separate from the air intake section 20, such as a stand-alone air filter unit for a power consuming mode.

[0102] The multiple air circuits 464 may include air circuit 522, air circuit 524, air circuit 526, and air circuit 528. Air circuit 522 may extend through the interior of gas turbine system 12 from air inlet section 20 to duct 482. For example, air circuit 522 may include air inlet circuit 456 from air inlet section 20 to compressor section 22, an air flow path through compressor section 22, an air flow path through combustor 40, and an air flow path through turbine section 26 to duct 482. Thus, air circuit 522 may be described as an internal air flow circuit through gas turbine system 12.

[0103] Air circuits 524, 526, and 528 may be described as external air circuits, independent air circuits, or secondary air circuits outside of gas turbine system 12. In the illustrated embodiment, air circuit 524 extends from a first location (e.g., an air extraction connection) to a second location (e.g., an air injection location), with the first location fluidly coupled to duct 482 between turbine section 26 and HRSG 14 and the second location fluidly coupled to duct 486 between gas capture system 164 and gas capture system 166. Accordingly, air circuit 524 may be described as a bypass circuit that bypasses HRSG 14 and gas capture system 164. Air circuit 524 selectively supplies bypass air 530 from air circuit 522 to gas capture system 166 via duct 486.

[0104] The air circuit 526 extends from a first location (e.g., an air extraction connection or a compressor bleed connection) to a second location (e.g., an air injection location), with the first location fluidly coupled to the compressor section 22 and the second location fluidly coupled to the duct 486. The air circuit 526 is configured to supply bleed air 532 from an airflow path within the compressor section 22 to the gas capture system 166 without passing the airflow through the combustor 40 and the turbine section 26. The air circuit 524 may be described as a bleed air circuit, which may be controlled by the control system 144 to adjust the pressure or pressure ratio throughout the gas turbine system 12 when suitable to aid in the operation of the gas turbine system 12 when driven by the motor-generator 28 in a power consumption mode (e.g., operating in an electric motor mode). The air circuit 526 may also include one or more coolers 534 configured to cool the temperature of the bleed air 532 before sending the airflow to the gas capture system 166. The cooler may include a heat exchanger that exchanges heat with a liquid coolant (eg, water) or a gas coolant (eg, air) to reduce the temperature of the bleed air 532 .

[0105] Air circuit 528 may extend from one or more of air movers 494, 496, 498 to duct 486 upstream of gas capture system 166. Accordingly, air circuit 528 supplies additional air 536 that is generally separate from the air flow supplied through air circuit 522 internal to gas turbine system 12. Additional air 536 may be filtered by one or more of air filters 520 along air circuit 528. Additional air 536 may selectively receive air flow from one or more of air movers 494, 496, and 498. For example, air mover 494 driven by motor-generator 28 (e.g., operating in electric motor mode) may be configured to supply air flow to air filter 520 via air circuit 538, and / or air mover 494 may be configured to supply air flow through air circuit 540 coupled to air intake section 20. When air is supplied into air intake section 20 from air mover 494, the air flow may be distributed along air intake circuit 456 (e.g., via air circuit 522) into compressor section 22 and / or along air circuit 542 into air filter 520. Similarly, within air intake section 20, air mover 494 driven by electric motor 516 may be configured to provide an air flow that is distributed along air intake circuit 456 (e.g., via air circuit 522) into compressor section 22 and / or along air circuit 542 into air filter 520. Additionally, air mover 498 driven by electric motor 518 may be configured to supply an air flow to air filter 520 via air circuit 544. In air filter 520, any of the one or more air flows received from air movers 494, 496, and / or 498 are then filtered to remove undesirable particulates or moisture content before being delivered to gas capture system 166 through air circuit 528.

[0106] Control system 144 is configured to control various air flows through air circuits 464 via multiple valves 546, such as valves 548 and 550 along air circuits 538 and 540, valves 552, 554, and 556 along air circuits 524, 526, and 528, and valves 558 and 560 along air circuits 456 and 542. Each of the illustrated valves 546 may include a valve assembly driven by an actuator controlled by control system 144. Valves 546 may include gate valves, ball valves, or other valve types. The actuators may include electric and / or fluid actuators, such as pneumatic or hydraulic actuators. During operation, control system 144 may selectively open and close each of valves 546, alone or in combination with other valves, to selectively provide air flow through the various air circuits 464 to gas capture system 166 for air processing during a power consumption mode. Additionally, control system 144, in combination with controlling valve 546, may be configured to control motor-generator 28 (e.g., operating in electric motor mode), clutches 500 and 502, and electric motors 516 and 518 to operate various air movers 492 and route air flow through various air circuits 464 to gas capture system 166. In some embodiments, air circuits 524, 526, and 528 may be selectively coupled to both gas capture systems 164 and 166 such that valve 546 may be selectively opened or closed to direct air flow through both gas capture systems 164 and 166, only gas capture system 164, or only gas capture system 166.

[0107] The control system 144 may control the airflow for air processing in the gas processing system 18 in various manners during the power consumption mode. As an example, the control system 144 may selectively operate the clutch 502 (e.g., operating in an electric motor mode) to connect the motor-generator 28 to the compressor section 22 of the gas turbine system 12 to rotate the compressor section 22 and generate a compressed airflow through the interior of the gas turbine system 12 via the air circuit 522, thereby directing the airflow from the air intake section 20 to the compressor section 22 through the combustor section 24 and through the turbine section 26 through the air circuit 456. Additionally, the airflow may be routed from the duct 482 through the air circuit 524 to the duct 486 upstream of the gas capture system 166 and / or from the compressor section 22 to the duct 486 upstream of the gas capture system 166 through the air circuit 526. For example, when clutch 502 mechanically couples motor-generator 28 to compressor section 22, control system 144 can selectively open valve 552 to allow bypass air 530 and / or valve 554 to allow bleed air 532 while motor-generator 28 operates in electric motor mode to drive compressor section 22. When valve 552 is open, bypass air 530 flows through air circuit 524 to gas capture system 166, bypassing HRSG 14 and gas capture system 164. When valve 554 is open, bleed air 532 flows through air circuit 526 to gas capture system 166, bypassing combustor section 24, turbine section 26, HRSG 14, and gas capture system 164. The illustrated embodiment also may include a valve or flow regulator in duct 482, allowing control system 144 to open or close the flow of air through HRSG 14 to gas capture systems 164 and 166.

[0108] In some embodiments, control system 144 can disconnect motor-generator 28 from steam turbine system 16 and gas turbine system 12 such that motor-generator 28 (e.g., operating in electric motor mode) does not drive compressor section 22 to provide air flow through air circuit 522. However, whether motor-generator 28 drives compressor section 22 or not, motor-generator 28 can also be controlled in conjunction with clutch 500 to drive air mover 494, which provides air flow through either air circuit 538 or air circuit 540, as described in detail above. For example, control system 144 can selectively control motor-generator 28 and clutch 500 to drive air mover 494, selectively open valve 548 to allow air flow through air circuit 538 to air filter 520, and / or selectively open valve 550 to allow air flow from air intake section 20 through air circuit 540 to one or both of air circuits 456 and 542. Within air intake section 20, air movers 496 may also be driven by respective electric motors 516 to provide air flow along one or both of air circuits 456 and 542. During operation, control system 144 may selectively open valve 558 to allow air flow to pass through air circuit 456 and air circuit 522 within gas turbine system 12 as described above, and / or may selectively open valve 560 to allow air flow to pass through air circuit 542 and to air filter 520. Air flow passing through air circuits 538 and 542 may then flow from air filter 520 through air circuit 528 to gas capture system 166 as additional air 536. Additionally, the control system 144 can selectively operate the motor 518 to drive the air mover 498 to supply air flow through the air circuit 544 to the air filter 520, which supplies filtered air through the air circuit 528 to the gas capture system 166 as additional air 536.

[0109] The control system 144 is configured to allow any one or more of these air flows to flow through the air circuits 464 to the gas trapping system 166. In the illustrated embodiment, the various air flows can bypass the gas trapping system 164 and flow only to the gas trapping system 166. However, in some specific embodiments, the various air circuits 464 can be configured to route one or more of the air flows to the gas trapping system 164 without the gas trapping system 166, or to the gas trapping system 164 through both the gas trapping systems 164 and 166. Additionally, in some embodiments, the various air circuits 464 can be configured to route one or more of the air flows to the gas trapping system 162 upstream of the air intake section 20, as shown in FIG. 1 .

[0110] In the power consumption mode, the various air movers 492 provide airflow to the gas capture system 166 (or, in some cases, any combination of the gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166), which uses one or more heat sources 562 to support the gas capture process (e.g., heat for desorption of undesired gases from a sorbent material and / or heat for stripping undesired gases from a solvent). For example, the power consumption fluid circuit 454 may include one or more heat sources 562, such as one or more heat exchangers 564 and one or more heaters 566. The heat exchangers 564 may be configured to exchange heat between a heated fluid, which may include compressed air or a fluid heated by waste heat, and the working fluid. Although the gas turbine system 12 does not produce combustion gases and exhaust gases during the power consumption mode, other sources of combustion gases and exhaust gases may be used for heat transfer in the heat exchangers, depending on their availability during the power consumption mode. The working fluid may include water, air, or another suitable liquid or gas that may be pumped through the gas capture system 166 to facilitate separation of gases within the gas capture system 166. The one or more heaters 566 may include electric heaters that generally consume electricity to provide heat to the gas capture system 166. As shown, the heat source 562 is configured to provide heat to the gas capture system 166, as indicated by arrow 568. The heat 568 may be configured to facilitate desorption of undesired gases from an air stream within a sorbent material in a sorbent-based gas capture system, separation of gases from a solvent in a solvent-based gas capture system, or any other suitable configuration. Accordingly, the heat source 562 may be used as a substitute for steam used in the steam circuit 578, which is generally available during the power generation mode but unavailable during the power consumption mode. As a result, during the power consumption mode, steam may be unavailable, and therefore the steam circuit 578 may not be used to provide heat to the gas capture systems 164 and 166. In some particular embodiments, a heat source 562 (e.g., a heater 566) may be used to generate steam for heat 568, and the heat source 562 may be independent or integrated with the HRSG 14 or other steam generator.

[0111] The gas capture system 166 is configured to capture one or more undesirable gases from the air stream as captured gas 194 and output treated gas 490 through the exhaust stack 214. The treated gas 490 may be described as treated air (e.g., carbon-reduced air), which has a lower content of undesirable gases than ambient or surrounding air. The captured gas 194 includes one or more of the undesirable gases captured from the air stream. The captured gas 194 may include carbon dioxide (CO) or other undesirable gases as described above. The captured gas 194 then flows to the compression system 188 and storage pipeline 228.

[0112] During operation, the combined cycle power plant 10 may be selectively controlled by the control system 144 to operate in either a power generation mode of the gas turbine system 12 (e.g., an ignition mode) or a power consumption mode of the gas turbine system 12 (e.g., an unfired mode) in response to various operating parameters and external factors. As described above, the external factors may include energy pricing for electricity on the power grid, energy demand for electricity on the power grid, various energy credits (e.g., monetary credits resulting from negative energy pricing), various gas capture credits (e.g., tax credits for carbon capture), or any combination thereof. For example, the control system 144 may switch between the power generation mode and the power consumption mode in response to whether energy demand and / or energy pricing is above or below one or more thresholds. For example, if energy pricing falls to low, zero, or negative energy pricing, the control system 144 may transition from the power generation mode to the power consumption mode. For example, if energy pricing rises above a threshold or into positive energy pricing, control system 144 can transition from a power consumption mode to a power generation mode. Additionally, if credits are available for reducing undesirable gases from the air, such as reducing carbon dioxide in the air, control system 144 may be configured to transition from a power generation mode to a power consumption mode if energy demand and / or energy pricing are also sufficiently low. Regardless of the reason, control system 144 is configured to allow operation in either mode of operation.

[0113] The power generation mode, as described above, generally involves combusting fuel from the fuel supply 46 with air from the air intake section 20 to generate hot combustion gases, which drive the turbine section 26 and provide heat for steam generation in the HRSG 14. The steam is then used to drive the steam turbine 104 in the steam turbine system 16. Thus, the gas turbine system 12 and the steam turbine system 16 can be used to drive the same or different electrical generators (e.g., the motor-generator 28 in generator mode and the load 116 as an electrical generator). For example, the combined cycle power plant 10 may include a configuration of the gas turbine system 12 and the steam turbine system 16 as shown in FIG. 1 or a series configuration of the gas turbine system 12 and the steam turbine system 16 as shown in FIG. 4. In the power generation mode, the control system 144 may not operate various air movers 492 that circulate or supply airflow through the air circuit 464 to the gas capture system 166.

[0114] However, when operating in the power consumption mode, the control system 144 may enable airflow through one or more of the air circuits 464 from the air mover 492 to the gas capture system 166 for air treatment to generate the treated gas 490 and the captured gas 194. In the power consumption mode, the gas turbine system 12 does not ignite or combust fuel from the fuel supply 46 to generate hot combustion gases to drive the turbine section 26 and generate steam via the HRSG 14. Accordingly, the motor-generator 28 operates in an electric motor mode to drive the compressor section 22 of the gas turbine system 12 and / or the air mover 494. Additionally, the air movers 496 and 498 may be driven by respective electric motors 516 and 518 to provide airflow through the air circuits 464 to the gas capture system 166. Any one or more of the air circuits 464 may be used by the power consuming fluid circuit 454 during the power consumption mode. In some particular embodiments, the combined cycle power plant 10 may have a different configuration, a different combustion system than the gas turbine system 12, and / or additional combustion systems (e.g., additional gas turbine systems 12, reciprocating piston-cylinder engines, furnaces, boilers, etc.). Various configurations are described in further detail below.

[0115] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a power plant 600 having a multi-mode configuration 450 for selectively operating the power plant 600 in an electrical power generating mode and an electrical power consuming mode. In contrast to the combined cycle power plant 10 of Figure 4, the power plant 600 has a combustion system 600 and a steam generator 602 rather than the gas turbine system 12 and HRSG 14 of Figure 4. Otherwise, the power plant 600 is substantially the same as the combined cycle power plant 10 described in detail above with reference to Figures 1-4. Accordingly, unless otherwise noted, each of the components and functions of the power plant 600 are the same as those described in detail above with reference to Figures 1-4.

[0116] Combustion system 600 may include gas turbine system 12 or a non-gas turbine system configuration. In some particular embodiments, combustion system 600 may include a furnace, a reciprocating piston-cylinder engine, or another fuel-driven combustion system. For example, combustion system 600 may include a coal-fired furnace or a fuel-fired furnace operating on various liquid, gaseous, or solid fuels. The fuel may include coal, petroleum products, natural gas, syngas, gasoline, biofuel, or other suitable fuels. Combustion system 600 may receive an airflow from air intake section 20, as described in detail above. However, compressor section 22 of gas turbine system 12 may be replaced with an air mover 604, which may be driven by steam turbine system 16 or a separate electric motor. As shown, air mover 604 is driven by steam turbine system 16 via shaft 606. Air mover 604 may include an air compressor, a fan, a blower, or another suitable air moving system. Air mover 604 provides an airflow into combustion system 600, which also receives one or more fuels from fuel supply 46. Combustion system 600 is configured to combust the one or more fuels with the airflow from air mover 604, thereby generating hot combustion gases, as indicated by arrows 608. Hot combustion gases 608 then flow through steam generator 602, which heats water to generate steam for supply through steam circuit 462, as described in detail above. Otherwise, power plant 600 operates substantially as described in detail above with reference to FIG. 4.

[0117] Combustion system 600 may include a reciprocating piston-cylinder engine, and thus power plant 600 may be a combined cycle power plant that uses work extracted from the reciprocating piston-cylinder engine to drive motor-generator 28 as an electric generator in the same configuration as described above with reference to FIG. 4 . Alternatively, combustion system 600 may include a fuel-fired furnace that supplies hot combustion gases 608 to steam generator 602 to generate steam for operating steam turbine system 16. However, when configured as a furnace, combustion system 600 may not generate mechanical work to drive motor-generator 28 as an electric generator. Accordingly, when configured as a furnace, combustion system 600 may only be used to provide heat for generating steam in steam generator 602 for steam for steam turbine system 16. Nevertheless, power plant 600 is configured to operate in electricity generating and power consuming modes in the same manner as described in detail above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4 . Accordingly, in the power consumption mode, the control system 144 is configured to route one or more air flows through the air circuit 464 to the gas capture system 166 for processing the air and capturing undesirable gases as captured gases 194. In contrast, in the electricity generation mode, the control system 144 is configured to operate the combustion system 600 to provide hot combustion gases 608 for steam generation via the steam generator 602, which is then used by the steam turbine system 16 to generate electricity.

[0118] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the combined cycle power plant of FIGS. 1 and 4 , further illustrating a plurality of power trains 650 having gas turbine system 12, steam turbine system 16, HRSG 14, and motor-generator 28. In the illustrated embodiment, power train 650 includes first and second power trains 652 and 654. However, any number of additional power trains 650 may be included in combined cycle power plant 10. First power train 652 includes gas turbine system 12A, HRSG 14A, steam turbine system 16A, and motor-generator 28A. Similarly, second power train 654 includes gas turbine system 12B, HRSG 14B, steam turbine system 16B, and motor-generator 28B. Generally, the components of first and second power trains 652 and 654 are substantially identical to one another and are as described in detail above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4 . Additionally, each of the components and functionality of the combined cycle power plant 10 is the same as that described in detail above with reference to FIGS.

[0119] Combined cycle power plant 10 may include various control modes, such as a power generation mode and a power consumption mode, operated by control system 144 as described above. Additionally, control system 144 may be configured to control the operation of multiple power trains 650 to operate all of power trains 650 in the same operating mode, different operating modes, or any other suitable arrangement. For example, control system 144 may be configured to operate all of power trains 650 in a power generation mode, all of power trains 650 in a power consumption mode, or a combination of power generation and power consumption modes.

[0120] For example, in some particular embodiments, control system 144 may be configured to operate first power train 652 in a power consumption mode, as described in detail above with reference to FIG. 4, while operating second power train 654 in a power generation mode. In such a configuration, second power train 654 operating in a power generation mode may be configured to supply exhaust gas 656 and steam 658 to gas processing system 18 having gas capture systems 164 and 166. For example, second power train 654 may output exhaust gas 656 along circuit 660 coupled to duct 484 upstream of gas capture system 164 and may supply steam 658 to gas capture systems 164 and 166 via circuit 662. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, while the first power train 652 operates in a power consumption mode as described above, the second power train 654 operates in a power generation mode to provide steam 658 as a heat source 480 to facilitate operation of the gas capture systems 164 and 166, while simultaneously passing exhaust gas 656 through both gas capture systems 164 and 166 for treatment of the exhaust gas. The illustrated embodiment can use both gas capture systems 164 and 166 to simultaneously treat the exhaust gas 656 from the second power train 654 while also treating one or more air streams provided to the gas capture system 166 through the air circuit 464. In some particular embodiments, the control system 144 can control the proportion of exhaust gas that is mixed with the air stream prior to treatment in the gas capture system 166, thereby helping to control the temperature, humidity, or other parameters of the gas mixture (e.g., exhaust gas and air) treated by the gas capture system 166. For example, the exhaust gas can be used to increase the inlet temperature and humidity of the gas mixture (e.g., exhaust gas and air) sent to the gas capture system 166 for processing. In other words, ambient air can be mixed with the exhaust gas being supplied to the gas capture system 166, thereby helping to control the gas capture process. The control system 144 can be configured to control the amount of air flow supplied to the gas capture system 166 in order to use the available processing capacity of the gas capture system 166.In some embodiments, the air flow provided by the air circuit 464 can be sent to the duct 484 along with the exhaust gases 656 so that both the exhaust gases 656 and the air flow are processed by both the gas capture systems 164 and 166.

[0121] In some embodiments, first and second power trains 652 and 654 can operate simultaneously in a power consumption mode, thereby supplying airflow to gas treatment system 18 to increase airflow for air treatment and capture of undesirable gases as trapped gas 194. In these embodiments, airflow can be supplied to gas treatment system 18 for gas treatment in one or both of gas capture systems 164 and 166. For example, if gas capture system 166 has sufficient processing capacity to process the airflows of both power trains 652 and 654, the airflow can be directed only to gas capture system 166 for air purification. However, if gas capture system 166 alone is insufficient to process the airflows of both power trains 652 and 654, the airflow can be directed through both gas capture systems 164 and 166.

[0122] Again, as described in detail above, when the control system 144 operates each power train 650 in a power consumption mode, the motor-generators 28A and 28B may operate as electric motors to drive the rotation of at least the compressor sections 22 of the gas turbine systems 12A and 12B, and optionally the steam turbine systems 16A and 16B, such that the compressor sections 22 provide airflow through the respective gas turbine systems 12A and 12B to supply the gas processing system 18. Additionally, one or more of the air movers 492 may be used to supply airflow to the gas processing system 18, such as the gas capture system 164 and / or the gas capture system 166. In the illustrated embodiment, when both the first and second power trains 652 and 654 are operating in a power consumption mode, the heat source 562 may be used to provide heat to support the operation of the gas capture systems 164 and / or 166. However, when power train 652 operates in a power consumption mode and power train 654 operates in a power generation mode, steam 658 can be used as heat source 580 with or without one or more heat sources 562. All other aspects of combined cycle power plant 10 remain the same as described in detail above.

[0123] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the power plant 600 of FIG. 5 , further illustrating a plurality of power trains 700 having a combustion system 600, a steam generator 602, an air mover 604, a steam turbine 16, and a motor-generator 28. For example, the power train 700 may include any number of power trains having similar components and functionality as those described in detail above. For example, the power train 700 may include a first power train 702 including an air mover 604A, a combustion system 600A, a steam generator 602A, a steam turbine system 16A, and a motor-generator 28A. Similarly, the second power train 704 may include an air mover 604B, a combustion system 600B, a steam generator 602B, a steam turbine system 16B, and a motor-generator 28B. The power train 700, including the first and second power trains 702, 704, may be arranged substantially similarly to the plurality of power trains 650 of FIG. 6 . Accordingly, operation, functionality, and control are substantially the same as that described in detail above, with the difference being that the gas turbine system 12 and HRSG 14 are replaced with a combustion system 600 and a steam generator 602.

[0124] In the illustrated embodiment, the power trains 700 can operate in the same or different operating modes, such as a power generation mode, a power consumption mode, or a combination thereof. For example, the control system 144 can be configured to operate all of the power trains 700 in a power generation mode, all of the power trains 700 in a power consumption mode, or one or more combinations of the power trains 700 in a power generation mode and a power consumption mode. In a control configuration in which all of the power trains 700 operate in a power generation mode, the gas processing system 18 is configured to process exhaust gases from each of the power trains using the gas capture systems 164 and 166. Accordingly, the first power train 702 can combust fuel from a fuel supply to generate hot combustion gases to produce steam.

[0125] In a control configuration in which first and second power trains 702 and 704 operate in a power generation mode, each of combustion systems 600A and 600B receives fuel from a respective fuel supply 46 and air from a respective air mover 604A and 604B and generates hot combustion gases 608. The combustion gases 608 then pass through a respective steam generator 602A and 602B to generate steam for a respective steam turbine system 16A and 16B, with exhaust gases being discharged for treatment in gas treatment system 18. In response, gas treatment system 18 receives exhaust gases 656 from steam generator 602B and exhaust gases from steam generator 602A downstream of each combustion system 600 via circuit 660 so that gas capture system 164 can treat the exhaust gases, followed by treatment in gas capture system 166. Additionally, steam generators 602A and 602B provide steam as a heat source 480 to support the operation of gas processing systems 164 and 166 .

[0126] When control system 144 operates both first and second power trains 702 and 704 in the power consumption mode, combustion systems 600A and 600B do not receive and combust fuel from their respective fuel supplies 46. Instead, control system 144 can control the flow through air intake sections 20A and 20B and respective air movers 604A and 604B to provide airflow through combustion systems 600A and 600B (i.e., without fuel combustion) for subsequent air processing in gas processing system 18. Accordingly, each of combustion systems 600A and 600B does not produce hot combustion gases 608; rather, combustion systems 600A and 600B simply pass airflow for downstream air processing in gas processing system 18. The air flow can pass through all of ducts 482, 484, 486, and 488 and each of gas processing systems 164, 166, or one or more of air circuits 524, 526, and 528 can be used to direct the air flow to gas capture system 166 (or any combination of gas capture systems 162, 164, and 166), as described above.

[0127] The control system 144 may also operate the first and second power trains 702 and 704 in different operating modes. For example, the control system 144 may be configured to operate the first power train 702 in a power consumption mode, as described above, while operating the second power train 704 in a power generation mode. While the second power train 704 is operating in the power generation mode, the combustion system 600B combusts fuel to generate hot combustion gases 608, which pass through the steam generator 602B to generate steam for the steam turbine system 16B and steam 658 for the heat source 480, as described above. Additionally, the second power train 704 discharges exhaust gases 656 via a circuit 660 to a duct 484 upstream of the gas capture systems 164 and 166. Accordingly, exhaust gas 656 can be processed by gas capture systems 164 and 166 in substantially the same manner as described above with reference to FIG. 6 , while one or more air streams can also be provided by air circuit 464 for processing in one or both of gas capture systems 164 and 166. In some particular embodiments, control system 144 can control the proportion of exhaust gas that is mixed with the air stream prior to processing in one or both of gas capture systems 164 and 166, thereby helping to control the temperature, humidity, or other parameters of the gas mixture (e.g., exhaust gas and air) processed by gas capture systems 164 and / or 166. For example, exhaust gas can be used to increase the inlet temperature and humidity of the gas mixture (e.g., exhaust gas and air) sent to gas capture systems 164 and / or 166 for processing. In other words, ambient air can be mixed with exhaust gas being supplied to gas capture systems 164 and / or 166, thereby helping to control the gas capture process. In the illustrated embodiment, if steam is available, steam 658 may be used as heat source 480 to support gas capture systems 164 and 166, with or without heat source 562, as described above. All other aspects of power plant 600 are substantially the same as described in detail above with reference to Figures 1-6.

[0128] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of one embodiment of a process 750 for controlling operation of a power plant in a power generating mode and a power consuming mode, as described above with reference to FIGS. 1-7. Process 750 may be performed by one or more controllers, such as controller 150 of control system 144. Process 750 may be used in any combustion-driven power plant, such as combined cycle power plant 10 of FIGS. 1, 4, and 6 and / or power plant 600 of FIGS. 5 and 7. In the illustrated embodiment, process 750 may include monitoring power demand and power prices for power supplied by the power plant on a power grid (block 752). For example, process 750 may monitor increases or decreases in power demand and power prices (e.g., electricity prices). Process 750 may also include a query or evaluation regarding whether power demand and / or power prices are below a threshold (block 754). For example, the threshold may include a power demand threshold and / or a power price threshold that are minimum levels for operating the power plant in a power generating mode. Accordingly, process 750 may proceed to control the power plant depending on whether the power demand and / or power price is below a threshold, as indicated by arrow 756, or above a threshold, as indicated by arrow 758.

[0129] If the power demand and / or power price are above a threshold, as indicated by arrow 758, the process 750 may proceed to control the power plant to operate in a power generation mode (e.g., an ignition mode or a combustion mode) and an exhaust gas treatment mode of one or more gas capture systems (block 760). The process 750 may then continue to control the combustion of fuel to generate hot combustion gases in a combustion system, such as a furnace, a gas turbine system, a reciprocating piston-cylinder engine, or any combination thereof (block 762). The process 750 may then proceed to control the generation of steam by extracting heat from the hot combustion gases (block 764). For example, the extraction of heat to generate steam may be performed via one or more HRSGs 14 and / or one or more steam generators 602. The process 750 may then proceed to control the generation of power by extracting work from the hot combustion gases and / or steam (block 766). For example, the hot combustion gases may be used to drive a turbine section of the gas turbine system 12, a piston of a reciprocating piston-cylinder engine, or another engine. This steam can be used to drive one or more turbines of the steam turbine system 16. The process 750 can then proceed to controlling the treatment of the exhaust gas in a first stage of the gas capture system using the steam as a heat source (block 768). For example, the treatment can be performed using the gas capture system 164 of the gas processing system 18, as described in detail above. The steam can be used as a heat source to aid in the desorption of undesired gases from the adsorbent material, the separation of undesired gases from the solvent, or any combination thereof. The process 750 can then proceed to controlling the treatment of the exhaust gas in a second stage of the gas capture system using the steam as a heat source (block 770). For example, the gas treatment can be performed using the gas capture system 166, as described in detail above. Again, the steam can be used as a heat source to aid in the desorption of undesired gases from the adsorbent material, the separation of undesired gases from the solvent, or any combination thereof.The process 750 ultimately produces the trapped gas 194 and the treated gas 490, as described in detail above.

[0130] If the power demand and / or power price is below a threshold, as indicated by arrow 756 (block 754), the process 750 may proceed to control the power plant to operate in a power consumption mode (e.g., a non-fired mode or a non-combustion mode) and an air handling mode of the gas capture system (block 772). The process 750 may then proceed to control one or more compressors and / or air movers to provide airflow along one or more of the air circuits 464, as described in detail above (block 774). For example, the airflow may be provided via the compressor section 22 of the gas turbine system 12, the air mover 604 of the combustion system 600, or one of the air movers 494, 496, and / or 498. The process 750 may then proceed to control the generation of heat using one or more heaters and / or heat exchangers (block 776). For example, a heat source 562 including a heat exchanger 564 and / or a heater 566 may be used to provide heat to support operation of the gas capture system 166 and / or 164. The process 750 may then proceed to controlling airflow through an existing flow path of the combustion system and / or other flow paths (block 778). For example, the existing flow path of the combustion system may include the air circuit 522 through the interior of the gas turbine system 12, the air circuit through the interior of the combustion system 600, or a combination thereof. The other flow path may include one or more of the air circuits 464 described in detail above. The process 750 may then proceed to controlling a bypass of the airflow around the steam generator and / or the first stage of the gas capture (block 780). For example, the steam generator may include the HRSG 14, the steam generator 602, or a combination thereof. The first stage of the gas capture may include the gas capture system 164. The bypass may include the air circuit 524 that provides bypass air 530, as described above. The process 750 may then proceed to control the treatment of the airflow in a second stage of gas capture using heat (block 782).The second stage of gas capture can include gas capture system 166, and the heat can include heat 568 from one or more heat sources 562, as described in detail above. In response, the air stream is treated to remove one or more undesirable gases, such as carbon dioxide, thereby allowing the air to be processed for discharge to the environment as treated gas 490. In addition, process 750 obtains captured gas 194 (e.g., carbon capture, such as CO). Process 750 can also include a combination of power generation and power consumption modes, as described in detail above with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. During operation, process 750 enables various power plants 10 to operate in both power generation and power consumption modes, depending on various external factors, such as power demand, power prices, energy credits, gas capture credits (e.g., tax credits for capturing undesirable gases), or any combination thereof. Accordingly, when electricity demand and / or electricity prices are low, such as low, zero, or negative electricity pricing, process 750 may operate the power plant in a power consumption mode to generate energy credits and / or gas capture credits while treating air in the environment.

[0131] A technical effect of embodiments of the present disclosure includes a multi-stage gas processing system having multiple gas capture systems 160 (e.g., 162, 164, and 166), which may include a sorbent-based gas capture system (e.g., 250 in FIG. 2 ) and / or a solvent-based gas capture system (e.g., 350 in FIG. 3 ) that uses heated fluid 168 (e.g., steam and / or heated water), waste heat from a waste heat recovery system 172 (e.g., 182, 184, and 186), and / or a heat source 562 (e.g., heat exchanger 564 and / or heater 566) as a heat source for the gas capture process. Embodiments of the present disclosure substantially reduce concentration levels of undesirable gases (e.g., CO) to levels below input levels, thereby helping to achieve a desired carbon footprint (e.g., a low-carbon, net-neutral, or net-negative carbon footprint) of combined cycle power plant 10 and / or power plant 600. Embodiments of the present disclosure advantageously control a power plant (e.g., 10, 600) in either a power generating mode or a power consuming mode, thereby enabling gas capture from exhaust gases while generating electricity in the power generating mode, and gas capture from air (e.g., ambient air) while not generating electricity in the power consuming mode. In particular, when power demand and / or power prices are low, zero, or negative, the power consuming mode enables additional gas capture from ambient air that would otherwise not be possible with the power plant (e.g., 10, 600).

[0132] The subject matter described in detail above may be defined in one or more of the following clauses:

[0133] The system includes a gas treatment system having a first gas capture system configured to at least partially capture undesirable gases and at least one gas capture system configured to at least partially capture undesirable gases. The gas treatment system also includes an exhaust flow path through the at least one gas capture system, an airflow path through the at least one gas capture system, and at least one flow control. The at least one flow control is configured to direct exhaust gases from the combustion system through the exhaust flow path in a first control mode to enable gas capture from the exhaust gases by the at least one gas capture system, and the at least one flow control is configured to direct airflow through the airflow path in a second control mode to enable gas capture from the airflow by the at least one gas capture system.

[0134] The system of the preceding clause, including a controller having a memory, a processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to change an operating mode between a first control mode and a second control mode.

[0135] 10. The system of any preceding clause, wherein the first control mode comprises an ignition mode of the combustion system that produces exhaust gases, and the second control mode comprises a non-ignition mode of the combustion system that does not produce exhaust gases.

[0136] 10. The system of any preceding clause, wherein the first control mode includes a power generation mode using the combustion system to generate combustion gases as an energy source to drive an electric generator, and the second control mode includes a power consumption mode using electricity to drive one or more air movers to provide air flow through the air flow path to enable gas capture from the air flow by at least one gas capture system.

[0137] 10. The system of any preceding clause, wherein the controller is configured to control the steam generator in a first control mode to supply steam to the at least one gas capture system, and wherein the controller is configured to control the heater in a second control mode to supply heat to the at least one gas capture system.

[0138] 10. The system of any preceding clause, including a combustion system and an electric generator, the combustion system configured to combust fuel to generate combustion gases, and the electric generator driven using the combustion gases as an energy source.

[0139] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the combustion system includes a gas turbine system having an air compressor, a combustor, and a turbine driven by the combustion gases and outputting exhaust gases.

[0140] 10. The system of any preceding clause, including a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and a steam turbine, the HRSG configured to generate steam using heat from the exhaust gases, and the steam turbine driven by the steam.

[0141] 10. The system of any preceding clause, including a steam supply circuit configured to supply a portion of the steam to the at least one gas capture system in a first control mode; and a heater configured to supply heat to the at least one gas capture system in a second control mode.

[0142] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the combustion system includes a furnace.

[0143] 10. The system of any preceding clause, including a steam generator and a steam turbine, the steam generator configured to generate steam using heat from the combustion gases, and the steam turbine driven by the steam.

[0144] 10. The system of any preceding clause, including a steam supply circuit configured to supply a portion of the steam to the at least one gas capture system in a first control mode; and a heater configured to supply heat to the at least one gas capture system in a second control mode.

[0145] 10. The system of any preceding clause, including one or more air movers configured to provide an air flow through the air flow path to enable gas capture from the air flow by the at least one gas capture system.

[0146] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the one or more air movers include an air mover of a combustion system, the air mover configured to provide an air flow through the combustion system to combust fuel in a first control mode, and the air mover configured to provide an air flow through the combustion system without combustion in a second mode.

[0147] 10. The system of any preceding clause, wherein the one or more air movers include an air mover coupled to an electric motor-generator via a clutch, the electric motor-generator coupled to a turbine, the electric motor-generator configured to operate as an electric generator driven by the turbine in a first control mode, and the electric motor-generator configured to operate as an electric motor driving the air mover in a second control mode.

[0148] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the one or more air movers include an air mover driven by an electric motor.

[0149] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the undesirable gas comprises carbon dioxide (CO2).

[0150] 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one gas trapping system includes a first gas trapping system and a second gas trapping system, the exhaust flow path extending through the series arrangement of the first gas trapping system and the second gas trapping system, and the air flow path extending through the second gas trapping system.

[0151] The system includes a controller having a memory, a processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to change the operating mode of the gas processing system between a first control mode and a second control mode, the gas processing system including at least one gas capture system configured to at least partially capture undesirable gases. The controller is configured in the first control mode to control the at least one flow control to direct exhaust gases from the combustion system along an exhaust flow path through the at least one gas capture system, the first control mode enabling gas capture from the exhaust gases by the at least one gas capture system. The controller is configured in the second control mode to control the at least one flow control to direct an airflow along an airflow path through the at least one gas capture system, the second control mode enabling gas capture from the airflow by the at least one gas capture system.

[0152] The method includes changing an operating mode of a gas processing system between a first control mode and a second control mode, the gas processing system including at least one gas capture system configured to at least partially capture undesirable gases. The method includes controlling, in the first control mode, at least one flow controller to direct exhaust gas from a combustion system along an exhaust flow path through the at least one gas capture system, the first control mode enabling capture of gas from the exhaust gas by the at least one gas capture system. The method includes controlling, in a second control mode, at least one flow controller to direct an airflow along an airflow path through the at least one gas capture system, the second control mode enabling capture of gas from the airflow by the at least one gas capture system.

[0153] This written specification uses examples to explain the present embodiments, including the best mode, and to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the disclosed embodiments, including making and using any device or system, and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the disclosed embodiments is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements that do not differ in material way from the literal language of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0154] 10. Combined cycle power plants 12, 12A, 12B Gas Turbine Systems 14, 14A, 14B Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) 16, 16A, 16B Steam Turbine Systems 18 Multi-stage gas treatment system 20 Air Intake Section 22 Compressor Section 24 Combustor Section 26 Turbine Section 28, 28A, 28B motor generator 30 Compressor Stage 32 Rotary compressor blade 34 Fixed compressor vane 36 Compressor casing 38 Compressor shaft 40 Combustor 42 Shaft 44 Fuel Nozzle 46 Fuel supply source 48 Rotating Turbine Blades 50 Fixed turbine vanes 52 Turbine casing 54 Turbine shaft 56 Turbine Stage 58 Shaft 60 Intake airflow 62 Compressed Air Flow 64 Combustion chamber 66 High-temperature combustion gas flow 68 Exhaust gas flow 70 Components 72 High-Pressure Section 74 Medium Pressure Section 76 Low Pressure Section 78 Final high pressure superheater 80 Secondary reheater 82 Primary reheater 84 Primary high pressure superheater 86 Interstage desuperheater 88 Interstage desuperheater 90 High-pressure evaporator 92 High-pressure economizer 94 Medium pressure evaporator 95 Fuel Gas Heater 96 Medium Pressure Economizer 98 Low-pressure evaporator 100 Low-pressure economizer 102 Enclosure or duct 104 Steam Turbine 106 High-pressure steam turbine 108 Medium-pressure steam turbine 110 Low-pressure steam turbine 112 Shaft 114 Shaft 116 Load 118 Shaft 120 Condensate 122 Condenser 124 Pump 125 Pump 126 Water Supply 130 Fluid Connection System 132 High pressure steam supply conduits or lines 134 Discharge or return line 136 Medium pressure steam supply conduits or lines 138 Discharge or return line 140 Low pressure steam supply conduits or lines 142 Discharge or return line 144 Control Systems 146 Surveillance System 148 sensors 150 Controller 152 processors 154 memory 156 Command 160 Gas Capture System 162 Gas Capture System 164 Gas Capture System 166 Gas Capture System 168 Heated Fluid 170 Steam Supply System 172 Waste Heat Recovery System 174 Steam supply conduits or lines 176 Steam supply conduits or lines 178 Heat exchanger 180 Heat exchanger 182 Waste Heat Recovery System 184 Waste Heat Recovery System 186 Waste Heat Recovery System 188 Compression System 190 Air flow (air flow) 192 Arrow 194 Trapped Gas 196 Discharge conduits or lines 198 Dryer 200 Dryer 202 Fans 204 Valve 206 Channel 208 Discharge ducts or lines 210 Dryer 212 Discharge conduits or lines 214 Exhaust stack 216 Discharge conduits or lines 218 Dryer 220 Discharge ducts or lines 222 First or upstream compressor 224 Second or downstream compressor 226 Intercooler 228 Storage / Pipeline 230 Discharge ducts or lines 250 Sorbent-Based Gas Capture Systems 252 Gas capture assembly or unit 254 Adsorbent-containing conduit 256 Adsorbent-containing conduit 258 Adsorbent-containing conduit 260 Outer conduit wall 262 Channel 264 Central axis 266 Entrance 268 Exit 270 Adsorbent Materials 272 Central bore or inner surface 274 Upstream Flow Distribution System 276 Downstream Flow Distribution System 278 Heated Fluid Supply System 280 Gas Supply System 282 Post-desorption processing system 284 Treated Gas Processing System 286 Gas 288 Heated Fluid Control Unit 290 Heated Fluid Control Components 292 Heated Fluid Control Components 294 Heated Fluid Control Components 296 Valve 298 Distribution conduits or lines 300 Distribution conduits or lines 302 Gas pretreatment section 304 Gas Pretreatment Components 306 Gas Pretreatment Components 308 Gas Pretreatment Components 310 Valve 312 Distribution conduits or lines 314 Distribution conduits or lines 316 Valve 318 Distribution conduits or lines 320 Distribution conduits or lines 322 Post-detachment processor 324 Post-Desorption Processing Components 326 Post-Desorption Processing Components 328 Post-Desorption Processing Components 330 water 332 Valve 334 Distribution conduits or lines 336 Distribution conduits or lines 338 Treated Gas 350 Solvent-Based Gas Capture Systems 352 Absorber 354 Solvent Supply System 356 Solvent Discharge System 358 Gas-diluted solvents 360 Conduit 362 Solvent Distributor 364 nozzles 366 Solvent Dispersion 368 internal volume 370 Solvent inlet 372 Solvent outlet 374 Gas-enriched Solvents 376 Solvent Regeneration System 378 Gas Compressor 380 Gas Dryer 382 Return conduit 384 Gas inlet 386 Gas Outlet 388 Containers or enclosures 390 Upper 392 Bottom 394 Middle 396 Central axis 398 Axial or Axis 400 Radial or Axial 402 Circumferential or axial 404 Upper plate or cover 406 Side wall 408 base plate 410 Gasket 412 Support tray or screen 414 Solvent Distributor 416 Nozzle 420 Arrow 422 Steam Supply System 424 Arrow 426 Components 428 Components 430 Components 432 Components 450 Multimode Configuration 452 Power generation fluid circuit 454 Power consumption fluid circuit 456 Air circuit, air intake circuit 458 Fuel circuit 460 exhaust gas circuit 462 Steam Circuit 464 Air Circuit 466 Common Shaft 468 Steam Turbine 470 Steam Turbine 472 Air Filter 474 Steam Circuit 476 Steam Circuit 478 Steam Circuit 480 Heat source 482 Duct 484 Duct 486 Duct 488 Duct 490 Treated Gas 492 Air mover 494 Air mover 496 Air mover 498 Air mover 500 clutch 502 Clutch 504 Clutch part 506 Clutch part 508 Shaft 510 shaft 512 shaft 514 Shaft 516 Electric motor 518 Electric motor 520 Air Filter 522 Air Circuit 524 Air Circuit 526 Air Circuit 528 Air Circuit 530 Bypass Air 532 Bleed Air 534 Cooler 536 Additional Air 538 Air Circuit 540 Air Circuit 542 Air Circuit 544 Air Circuit 546 Valve 548 Valve 550 valves 552 Valve 554 Valve 556 Valve 558 Valve 560 Valve 562 Heat source 564 Heat exchanger 566 Heater 568 Heat, Arrow 578 Steam Circuit 600, 600A, 600B Power Plant, Combustion System 602, 602A, 602B Steam Generators 604, 604A, 604B Air movers 606 Shaft 608 High-temperature combustion gas 650 Power Train 652 First Power Train 654 Second Power Train 656 Exhaust Gas 658 Steam 660 circuits 662 circuits 700 Power Train 702 First Power Train 704 Second Power Train 750 processes 756 Arrow 758 Arrow

Claims

1. at least one gas capture system (160) configured to at least partially capture undesired gases; an exhaust flow path (206) through the at least one gas capture system (160); an airflow path through the at least one gas capture system (160); at least one flow control section configured to direct exhaust gas from a combustion system (600) through the exhaust flow path (206) in a first control mode to enable gas capture from the exhaust gas by the at least one gas capture system (160), and at least one flow control section configured to direct air flow through the air flow path in a second control mode to enable gas capture from the air flow by the at least one gas capture system (160). a gas processing system (18), system.

2. 2. The system of claim 1, comprising a controller having a memory, a processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to change an operating mode between the first control mode and the second control mode.

3. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first control mode comprises an ignition mode of the combustion system (600) that produces the exhaust gases, and the second control mode comprises a non-ignition mode of the combustion system (600) that does not produce the exhaust gases.

4. 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the first control mode comprises a power generation mode using the combustion system (600) to generate combustion gases as an energy source to drive an electric generator, and the second control mode comprises a power consumption mode using electricity to drive one or more air movers (492) to provide the air flow through the air flow path to enable the gas capture from the air flow by the at least one gas capture system (160).

5. 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to control a steam generator to supply steam to the at least one gas capture system in the first control mode, and the controller is configured to control a heater to supply heat to the at least one gas capture system in the second control mode.

6. 10. The system of claim 1, comprising the combustion system (600) and an electric generator, the combustion system (600) configured to combust fuel to generate combustion gases, and the electric generator driven using the combustion gases as an energy source.

7. 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the combustion system comprises a gas turbine system having an air compressor, a combustor, and a turbine driven by the combustion gases and outputting the exhaust gases.

8. 8. The system of claim 7, including a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) (14) and a steam turbine (104), the HRSG (14) configured to generate steam using heat from the exhaust gas, and the steam turbine (104) driven by the steam.

9. 9. The system of claim 8, comprising: a steam supply circuit configured to supply a portion of the steam to the at least one gas trapping system in the first control mode; and a heater configured to supply heat to the at least one gas trapping system in the second control mode.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the combustion system (600) comprises a furnace.

11. 11. The system of claim 10, comprising a steam generator (602) and a steam turbine (104), the steam generator (602) configured to generate steam using heat (568) from the combustion gases, and the steam turbine (104) driven by the steam.

12. 12. The system of claim 11, comprising: a steam supply circuit configured to supply a portion of the steam to the at least one gas trapping system in the first control mode; and a heater configured to supply heat to the at least one gas trapping system in the second control mode.

13. 2. The system of claim 1, comprising one or more air movers (604) configured to provide the air flow through the air flow path to enable the gas capture from the air flow by the at least one gas capture system (160).

14. 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more air movers comprise an air mover of the combustion system, the air mover configured to provide the air flow through the combustion system to combust fuel in the first control mode, and the air mover configured to provide the air flow through the combustion system without combustion in the second mode.

15. 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more air movers comprise an air mover coupled to an electric motor-generator via a clutch, the electric motor-generator coupled to a turbine, the electric motor-generator configured to operate as an electric generator driven by the turbine in the first control mode, and the electric motor-generator configured to operate as an electric motor driving the air mover in the second control mode.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more air movers (604) comprise an air mover (604) driven by an electric motor (516).

17. The undesired gas is carbon dioxide (CO 2 10. The system of claim 1, comprising:

18. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one gas trapping system comprises a first gas trapping system and a second gas trapping system, the exhaust flow path extending through a series arrangement of the first gas trapping system and the second gas trapping system, and the air flow path extending through the second gas trapping system.

19. a memory (154), a processor (152), and a method stored in the memory (154), changing an operating mode between a first control mode and a second control mode of a gas treatment system (18) comprising at least one gas capture system (160) configured to at least partially capture undesired gases; controlling at least one flow control section to direct exhaust gas from a combustion system (600) along an exhaust flow path through the at least one gas capture system (160) in the first control mode to enable gas capture from the exhaust gas by the at least one gas capture system (160); and instructions executable by the processor to control the at least one flow control to direct the airflow along an airflow path through the at least one gas capture system in the second control mode to enable gas capture from the airflow by the at least one gas capture system. system.

20. changing an operating mode between a first control mode and a second control mode of a gas processing system (18) comprising at least one gas capture system (160) configured to at least partially capture undesired gases; controlling at least one flow control unit to direct exhaust gas from a combustion system (600) along an exhaust flow path through the at least one gas capture system (160) in the first control mode that enables gas capture from the exhaust gas by the at least one gas capture system (160); controlling the at least one flow control unit to direct the airflow along an airflow path through the at least one gas capture system (160) in the second control mode to enable gas capture from the airflow by the at least one gas capture system (160). method.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Treatment of diesel engine exhaust

    US20120260635A1